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PARLOR GAMES 
AND PARTIES 

FOR YOUNG AND OLD 



Amusement Ideas for All the Family 
All the Year 



Gathered, bf , 
CARLETON B.'CASE 



Shrewesbury Publishing Co. 
CHICAGO 



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Copyright, 1916 
by 

Sheewesbuky Publishing Co. 



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CONTENTS 

Page 

Introductory / 5 

Jolly Pastimes 7 

St. Valentine Frolics 13 

March Merrymaking 1 20 

Three New Birthday Parties 23 

Home Parties for Grown-ups 27 

Ways That Insure Good Times 32 

Children 's Merry Frolics 34 

Games for the Playground , 33 

Vacation Games for Children 41 

Old Games That Children Love Best 53 

Games for Little Girls , 59 

An Old-Time Candy-Pull 63 

A Clever Surprise Party 66 

Games for the Kiddies 67 

Rainy-Day Fun 72 

Varied Amusements 79 

Halloween Fun 86 

Christmas Ideas - 93 



INTEODUCTOEY 

THiE proven ideas of others are most valuable 
in furnishing us with ready means and methods 
of entertainment, whether it is to amuse the 
juvenile members of the family or to .interest a circle 
of neighbors and friends. The most desirable amuse- 
ment ideas are those which are not worn out by fre- 
quent repetition, which come as a pleasant surprise 
to the participants because new to the locality and 
interesting to all concerned. The Ladies* Home 
Journal and Woman's Home Companion have given 
space to the ideas here set forth, and it is chiefly from 
their pages that the selection is made. The mother 
and the woman who entertains will be especially 
pleased with this collection. 



PARLOR GAMES AND 
PARTIES 

JOLLY PASTIMES 

Alliterative Acceptances 

ONE of the surest ways to destroy the tension 
that too frequently characterizes the first hour 
of an evening party where the guests are not 
well acquainted with one another is to introduce a 
guessing game in which the participants do not sit 
down but move about the room. And if the hostess 
can make the game reveal the ingenuity of her guests 
still greater interest and enjoyment will be added and 
she may increase her laurels won as an entertainer. 
A game which answers this purpose may be called 
* ' Alliterative Acceptance. ^ ^ 

In response to the invitations, which the hostess 
should write with as much alliteration as possible, so 
as to inspire those to whom she writes, each guest is 
requested to send a sentence of about ten words, th« 
prevailing initial of which is the same as his or her 
name, and which gives a hint of some characteristic 
of the writer, such as his business, hobby or personal 
peculiarity. These sentences, but not the names of 
the guests, are then written singly on cards and num- 
bered to correspond with the names of the writers. 
After attaching little loops of baby-ribbon all will be 
ready for the evening. 

7 



8 PARLOR GAMES 

Upon arrival each guest is given a c?rd to wear, 
told to guess the names of the persons to whom the 
sentences refer, and to write his answers upon another 
card, which, with a pencil, is furnished also. Should 
a guest obtain his own sentence he may or may not 
ask his hostess for another card, but by keeping his 
own he may divert suspicion — always a fun-provok- 
ing practice. 

After allowing a reasonable time for guessing the 
identity of the writers may be revealed and the correct 
and incorrect guesses counted by each participant. 
Additional fun may be obtained if the sentence is read 
aloud and Mie guests asked to announce the name of 
the writer. 

If desired, prizes either for the best two lists of 
correct guesses, or for the best and poorest (the 
booby), may be awarded. 

The following samples of alliterative sentences may 
serve as suggestive: 

Mr. Moore, a banker: Mercenary mortals make 
money merely to mitigate mundane matters. 

Miss Smith, dressmaker: Several softly-sighing 
spinsters sew sedulously in silent solitude. 

Mr. Tucker, a lover of horseback riding : The ten- 
derfoot trotter takes trivial tosses as terrible tumbles. 

Mr. Allen, a lawyer: Attorneys are always at- 
tempting artifice and aspiring to arrogance. 

Miss Williams, a school-teacher: Who whimpers 
when whining whippersnappers are whacked? 

Frances Woodward. 

A Candy Jack-Straw Parly 

We arranged five tables, each one having its par- 
ticular color scheme. Table Number One was ar- 
ranged in green, and a quarter of a pound of tiny 
green twisted candy-sticks were heaped in the center 
upon a dainty green and white paper doily. Four 
pretty place-boxes were made of white water-color 



AND PARTIES 9 

paper, their comers tied with narrow green ribbon 
and edges tinted green. These were to hold the booty 
won during the game. The four other tables were 
done in different colors — for you can buy candy- 
sticks of all colors at a confectioner's. 

Pretty hand-made tally-cards were easily arranged. 
There were four of each color for the five tables, and 
the pencil ribbons matched the tables. Partners were 
found by printing upon a man's card the opening 
bar of a popular song, and upon a girl's the corre- 
sponding words. 

The game started. Each one in turn tried to pick 
from the center pile as many candy-straws as he or 
she could with a pair of candy-tongs. In five minutes 
the bell rang and the partners with the highest booty 
marked their tally-cards and progressed to the next 
table. It was perfectly allowable to munch upon the 
candies won. When the jack-piles were demolished 
the game was called and prizes awarded to the two 
star performers — a huge candy cane to the man and 
a candy sunshade to the girl. This latter was made 
by using a candy cane for the stick and putting fluffy 
tissue-paper skirts upon it. 

A jolly game followed this as a test of artistic 
ability. Cards were passed around with some well- 
known event -written on the back of each — something 
so thrillingly dramatic that all were inspired, such 
as St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, Mac- 
beth and the Three Witches, etc. 

In numerical order the guests illustrated their sub- 
jects upon a child's blackboard. The '^audience'* 
wrote upon their cards what they conjectured the pic- 
tures to be. The artist was not allowed more than 
three or four minutes, and a prize was awarded to 
the best draughtsman — a huge tin medal with proper 
inscriptions, hung upon a scarlet ribbon. 

A chafing-dish supper was served, a man making 
Welsh rabbit and a girl creating lobster k la New- 



10 PARLOR GAMES 

burgh. Two chafing-dishes were used, and in addition 
Bandwiehes, olives, salted nuts, cakes and chocolate 
were served. Upon the center of our board we ar- 
ranged what we called the ^ ^ Pie of Fate, ' ' which held 
in its mysterious depths the future of our guests. 
The **pie'' was made out of a rather large, round 
hatbox with sides lowered to about four inches and a 
half, covered with a ruffle of crepe paper. Through 
this tissue-paper cover ribbons attached to the pack- 
ages were threaded with the place-card on the other 
end. Now in these packages were supposed to be the 
photographs of the future life-partners of the guests. 
I plundered an old photogTaph-trunk until I got 
twenty funny human specimens. To a man who 
openly admired sylphlike beauty I gave the picture 
of a portly, bejeweled woman with tiers of double 
chins; and to a young lady who professed mortal 
hatred of hirsute adornment upon the stronger sex 
I bestowed a heavily-whiskered, foreign-looking man, 
etc. When the refreshments were served each one 
drew his package from the mystic '^pie.'^ 

Maud Tonsey. 

Musical Merriment 

A musical club, having decided on a social even- 
ing, arranged six tables, on each of which was a ban- 
ner, having on it a staff, clef and signature. The men 
and women were each given half of a strain from a 
familiar musical composition, which were to be 
matched ; and each pair were assigned to a table hav- 
ing the banner with the signature corresponding to 
the key of their strain. Nearly all the strains could 
be found in the music they had studied during the 
winter. 

At the tables were cards bearing anagrams of com- 
posers' names, four on each card. For instance, on 
one table the cards bore the letters: ^^mahbrs,'' 
^'bsecrhtu,'' '^zoramt'' and '4ahden,'' which were 



AND PARTIES 11 

translated into Brahms, Schubert, Mozart and Handel. 
At the stroke of a bell all four at each table moved 
to the next, having written on paper as many of the 
names as they had succeeded in forming. When all 
had progressed the papers were taken up to be cor- 
rected, and prizes were awarded. The first prize was 
a small bust of Schubert, and the last prize, a mouth- 
organ. 

Then twelve familiar motifs from the different 
music studied during the winter were played, and 
each guest wrote the name of the piece from which 
the motif was taken. The one who had the most cor- 
rect list received a St. Cecilia photograph, and he 
who had guessed the fewest, a music primer. 

The banners were now turned, showing on their 
reverse sides small pictures of twelve great composers. 
Four cards for each composer were distributed, two 
tied with blue ribbon for the women, and two with 
red for the men. Thus the four who recognized 
Mozart's face would be seated at his table. The 
object of the committee, of course, was to bring 
strangers together. When they were seated supper 
was served. 

Camilla J. Knight. 

Clever "Character" Game 

One of the company leaves the room. A name con- 
taining as many letters as there are persons remain- 
ing is chosen, and to each one a letter of the name is 
assigned. Each is expected to choose a character 
whose name begins with that letter. 

The one outside is called in and told where the 
name begins and ends, all, of course, sitting in the 
order of the letters. He has either a certain time or 
so many questions allowed him to find out each letter 
and thus spell his way to the end. 

Frederick S. Law. 



12 PARLOR GAMES 

A Period Party 

''Will you give us the pleasure of your company 
Friday evening, dressed in a costume of the period 
of 1830? 32 Main Street.'' 

The invitations for the evening read like the above, 
except that each date was different; the invitation 
cards were circular. On the evening of the party the 
electric lights in the room had colored tissue-paper 
balls over them (representing periods), and many 
balls were festooned throughout the rooms. 

The guests were requested to compose a story that 
might happen in some period to come, say 1950. Each 
gniest wrote one sentence, and the one who could carry 
the story along fastest in the shortest sentence and 
reach a period first received a prize. The sentence, 
*^I came, I saw, I conquered,'' was an illustration 
of a good deal of action. 

The hostess announced to her guests that each lady 
should grasp, unaided, that floating period in the 
dining-room on which was the date corresponding with 
her costume. The floating periods were toy balloons 
flying loose — an electric fan is an excellent device for 
keeping them bobbing up and down. The string of 
each balloon had a small package at the end holding 
paper hats for the lady and her escort. 

The place-cards were round, and below the name of 
the guest was written : 

Periods — Mayonnaise dressing 

Periods — Wheat 

Periods — Sweet 

Periods — ^Frozen 

Periods — Crinkled and broken 

Periods — Split, browned, brewed 

The first was potato salad, the ingredients cut 

round; the second, sandwiches cut round; third, round 

cakes; fourth, ice cream formed like snowballs; and 

English walnuts and coffee were the last two named. 

Myrtle Marguerite Minor. 



ST. VALENTINE FEOLIOS 

AN ENTERTAINING way to ©pen a Valentine 
party is to have the guests shoot at a heart 
with bow and arrows. 

In the center of a sheet of cardboard paste a large 
red heart, ten inches across. Then with a penknife 
cut this red heart out from the rest of the cardboard. 
Make it like a little door, fastening it on the left side 
with paper-fasteners in place of hinges, and an im- 
provised turn-buckle on the right side. 

Have ready one small bow and a number of arrows. 
Allow each guest two turns to shoot the heart. If 
the heart is pierced the archer may unfasten the turn- 
buckle and reach in for a tiny heart-shaped box of 
candies, a number of which should stand*in readiness 
behind the target as trophies. 

Love is Blind. — Put the boys and the girls in 
separate rooms, and appoint a doorkeeper. The first 
boy is blindfolded, and the doorkeeper brings in a 
girl. She must go up and shake hands with the 
** blind'' man. 

*'How do you doT' asks the '^ blind'' man. The 
girl must reply, but she may disguise her voice, or 
even whisper. He is allowed one more question, and 
then if he cannot guess correctly who the girl is he 
pays a forfeit, and the girl is free to return. If he 
guesses correctly she is blindfolded and the question- 
ing repeated by her to a boy chosen by |he door- 
keeper. 

The Game of Tasks. — For this game, too, the boys 
and the girls are separated. Let each side determine 
13 



14 PARLOR GAMES 

on one, two or three tasks, according to the number 
of guests — the more guests, the fewer tasks. 

When the tasks have been decided upon a girl goes 
into the room where the boys are and sets to work. 
Meantime a boy has also gone into the girls' room to 
do their bidding. When each has finished a second 
girl and a second boy are detailed. 

The tasks may consist of any little every-day bit 
of work. For instance, the girl may be told to step 
on a chair and lift down a picture from the wall; to 
take a handkerchief and bind up the wrist of a boy 
supposed to be hurt. A boy may be obliged to help a 
girl on with her coat; to fasten a flower in her hair. 
When all have had a turn the girls vote to decide who 
is the most graceful boy, and the boys vote for the 
most dexterous girl, and prizes are awarded. 

Cinderella. — If the girls at the party have on low 
slippers have them go back to their dressing-room and 
each remove one. Take the slippers to the library 
and place them in a row on the table. Have the boys 
guess the owners; give a prize to the girl whose 
slipper is rated the daintiest, and another prize to 
the boy who guesses correctly the largest number of 
owners of the slippers. 

Progressive Wishes. — Arrange tables as for pro- 
gressive euchre. Provide each guest with a red paste- 
board heart about four inches across. It may have 
two or three hearts of white notepaper fastened on 
the back, and it must have a red lead pencil attached 
by a cord. When the bell rings partners exchange 
hearts, write a brief wish, sign their names, and re- 
turn the hearts to their owners. A man might write, 
for instance: 

May you always have 

* ' Bonnets and slippers, collars and shawls, 
Dresses for breakfast, for dinners and balls." 
or: 

I wish you ' ' The homage of all mankind. ' ' 



AND PARTIES 15 

A girl might write : 

I wish you "Great riches, great authority.'* 
or: 

I wish you ' ' The possession of the hearts of all 
whom you meet in life." 

After time has been given in which the wishes may 
be exchanged the bell rings and the players progTess, 
or change seats. They exchange hearts with their 
new partners, and receive more wishes. These hearts 
will make most charming souvenirs for the guests to 
carry away. 

Who Said So *? — Provide the guests with paper and 
pencils. Read a quotation, and ask the guests to name 
its author; give a few minutes' grace. They are to 
write at the top of the paper: *^ Number 1,'^ and 
then the name of the author of the quotation. A sec- 
ond quotation is read, and so on until twelve have 
been delivered. As it is St. Valentine's Day the quo- 
tations may all be of a sentimental turn. The player 
who has guessed the greatest number of authors of 
the quotations wins a prize. 

It is well to select such quotations as: 
"But I'll love him more — more — 
Than wife e'er loved before. 
Be the days dark or bright." 

— Jean Ingelow. 
"A perfect woman, nobly planned. 
To warn, to comfort, and command. ' ' 

— Wordsworth. 
"Did never mortal eyes behold such heavenly grace.'* 



'I warrant thou art a merry fellow and earest for 
nothing. ' ' 

— Shakespeare. 
"O, Eleanor, thou fair and good. 
Thou perfect flower of womanhood. 
Thou royal rose of June." 

— Tennyson. 



16 PARLOR GAMES 

Hearts Up! — This is something like the old game 
of ' * Up Jenkins, ' ' but more fun. Have the company 
sit around the longest table you can get, the places 
occupied by ladies and gentlemen alternately. The 
company is divided in two sides, lengthwise of the 
table. 

Provide each player with half a dozen counters; 
these may be dominoes, cards, beans, matches, or any 
small articles which are at hand in a quantity. Then 
have a small heart which is to be passed from hand 
to hand beneath the table. A celluloid heart, a glass 
heart, or anything of that sort will do. 

Those on the side which is to play first take the 
heart. They make a great show of passing it dili- 
gently under the table from one player to another. 

The leader of the other side calls : ' ^ Hearts up ! * * 
All those on the playing side double their hands into 
fists and hold them up. ^'Hearts down!'' calls the 
opponent. Then the players all slap their hands, 
palms downward, on the table (which, by-the-way, 
must be without a cloth). 

The opponents guess who has the heart. They 
begin at the left end of the table, the guesser saying 
to a certain player, *^Take up your right hand, 
please.'' The player takes it up. If the heart is 
there it goes to the opposing side. If not the player 
who guessed gives the other a counter, and the person 
next him takes a guess. They keep guessing and pay- 
ing counters until they get the heart. Then they play. 
The game is to get all the counters away from one 
side or the other. 

Retta K. Tourison. 

A St. Valentine Party Favor 

For a pretty work-bag, cut from white denim three 
heart-shaped pieces, each with a diameter of thirteen 
inches. Around the edge of each embroider or paint 
small red hearts as a border, each an inch and a half 



AND PARTIES 17 

in diameter. In the center of each large heart stitch 
a smaller one, six inches in diameter, to serve as a 
pocket. Embroider on it a red arrow, piercing it 
through. Join the three large hearts by whipping 
their edges together, leaving the top open so that 
they form a bag. If desired the border of hearts may 
be omitted, and the large hearts bound with red rib- 
bon. Sew loops of red or white ribbon to the three 
places near the top of the bag where the three hearts 
join, and carry long ends of the ribbon upward and 
tie together to hang the bag by. 

Mrs. N. B. Mathes. 

A Pretty Rose Luncheon 

A most charming affair was a luncheon given by a 
a girl friend, and the whole house was abloom with 
roses, made of crepe paper, great branches of them 
banking mantels and decking bowls and vases every- 
where. 

The luncheon-table was artistic in its decorations of 
roses that in their almost natural beauty suggested 
the warmth of June. The table was covered with 
bobbinet over pink, with a fluffy ruffle around the 
edge. A large basket overflowing with roses and real 
ferns fonned the central decoration; the handle was 
wrapped with asparagus ferns caught with roses, and 
at the top of the handle was a fetching bow of pink 
tulle ; the basket rested on a mirror base. At the four 
corners of the table were single candlesticks with 
fluffy shades caught with roses. Placed about on the 
table were small pink baskets of spun candy, the han- 
dles tied with ribbon in which small roses were caught, 
and the baskets were filled with bonbons. The favors 
were little baskets made of rafiia and filled with pink 
confections. 

The doilies on this table were unusually dainty — 
the idea for them was original with the hostess, who 
is a clever girl, and perhaps a description of them 



18 PARLOR GAMES 

will bring a welcome suggestion to some other girl 
who may want to make some like them. They were 
made of wash blond lace; the edge was finished in 
buttonhole-stitch done with an opalescent floss. Roses, 
tinted with tapestry dyes in the delicate tints of the 
natural flower, were scattered over the doily, the out- 
lines of the flowers being darned with floss of rose 
color. 

The salad was served in rosy apples. The dessert 
course was particularly pretty ; the cream was brought 
on in little glass dishes set in a large rose, the flower 
concealing the dish. Little pink, heart-shaped cakes 
were served with the cream. Lillie Martin. 

For Trimming St. Valentine Cakes 

After the cakes for a St. Valentine party-table 
have been smoothly iced with a plain boiled icing 
long sprays of roses may be drawn in a design upon 
their top by pressing through a cornucopia of stiff 
paper some of the left-over icing, which has been 
colored by mixing in it some cherry flavoring; the 
tinted icing is pressed through the cornucopia in a 
stream which is moved along to form the rose design. 
If an elaborate design is desired it is best to mark it 
out beforehand on the iced surface of the cakes. A 
second cornucopia filled with icing colored green may 
be used to form the stems and leaves. A running vine 
of roses around the sides of the cakes enhances the 
appropriateness of the decoration. 

Another pleasing effect is made by covering the 
cakes all over the top with white icing, a pink rose 
in the center and a border of pink icing hearts around 
the edge. Mrs. A. C. Connor. 

Cupids Graced This Table 

A St. Valentine's day table which delighted the 
girls who sat around it had as a centerpiece a basket 
loosely filled with pink roses, and a flying Cupid was 



AND PARTIES 19 

suspended over it from the chandelier. The candles 
had rosy shades, and by each place-card was a little 
image, of St. Joseph, the kindly saint who brings a 
girl her sweetheart. These little metal figures of St. 
Joseph were bought in New Orleans, but they may 
be found readily in almost any place. 

With Oranges and Red Roses 

An orange luncheon is quite easily arranged. At an 
orange luncheon given in Southern California orange 
blossoms and oranges on their stems entered largely 
into the decorations, combined for relief with great 
sprays of red roses arranged in tall Japanese vases. 
Place-cards were hand-painted with roses and tied 
with baby ribbon to wide bands of orange ribbon, 
which passed from each plate to the center of the 
table. Below the place-cards was a narrow fringe. 

Oranges variously served formed an important part 
of the menu, one of the prettiest dishes being orange 
jelly cut in cubes, and served in orange baskets set in 
beds of cracked ice, surrounded with the dark, rich 
foliage of the orange tree. 

At the close of the luncheon the ribbons were drawn 
from beneath the centerpiece of orange blossoms, dis- 
closing dainty and inexpensive valentine souvenirs of 
orange wood. Violet Shipley. 

A Valentine from Wall-Paper 

Some kinds of wall-paper have extremely pretty 
designs in large, freely-drawn flowers of bright but 
not coarse coloring. Cut from a floral design of this 
kind a single spray or blossom so that the cut piece 
has an irregular, graceful outline; find the duplicate 
of this part of the design, and tie them together at 
the top or the side with ribbon that harmonizes. 
Paste within a photograph or a little verse of greet- 
ing for St. Valentine's Day. 

Carrie W. Edwards. 



MARCH MERRYMAKING 

A Progressive Party for March 

A GROUP of high school friends, a social club 
of boys and girls, or a church society of young 
people will enjoy giving a new kind of pro- 
gressive party on March 1st or March 31st. 

Send out invitations written on cards reading as 
follows : 

March is the month of all the year 
When lamb and lion do appear, 
When pussy willow comes anew 
And March Hare scampers into view. 
If you would meet these creatures four 
And maybe several others more, 
Then come prepared for work and play 
To Grangers ^ hall, March first, the day. 

On the invitation cards, tiny hares, lions, lambs, 
or sprays of pussy willows can be outlined or traced 
by means of carbon paper from pictures. 

The guests upon arrival draw from a basket con- 
taining tiny toy or cracker lions, lambs, rabbits and 
cats, whichever kind of favor they wish. 

According to the favor each one draws the guests 
take their places respectively at the March Hare table, 
the lion table, the lamb table, or the pussy willow 
table. Each table is marked by a distinguishing cen- 
terpiece; at the March Hare table is a plaster rabbit, 
at the lion table a toy lion, the lamb table has a 
woolly lamb on wheels, and the pussy willow table 
a bunch of pussy willows or a stuffed cat. 
20 



AND PARTIES 21 

The fun is now ready to begin, for with the imple- 
ments and materials provided at each table the guests 
are required to produce a facsimile of the animal for 
which the table is named. Different materials are 
provided at each table, so there is no monotony as 
the guests progress from table to table after half 
an hour's stay at each one in turn. 

' Modeling clay is the medium in which the March 
Hares are to be done, and no implements except fin- 
gers are supposed to be used, though if a boy slyly 
makes use of his jackknife there are no embarrassing 
questions asked. 

The lions are to be carved from potatoes with tho 
aid of little kitchen vegetable knives, and the lambs 
are to be fashioned from cotton wool, matches, and 
mucilage. 

At the pussy willow table the guests must show 
how expert they can be at cutting cats, free hand, 
from flannel. Beads for eyes, and floss and bristles 
for whiskers, are also furnished. 

Prizes are given for the best and the worst speci- 
men at each table. 

A rabbit's foot charm, a small reproduction of the 
Barye lion, or the well-known Perry picture of a lion, 
a Dresden-china lamb or shepherdess, and a pussy- 
cat plate, pincushion or paper weight are suggestions 
for first prizes, and four little tin horns painted 
green may be given as booby prizes to the four 
** greenhorns'* who have the worst showing. 

Emily Rose Burt. 

A March Hare Easter Party 

A party of children were delightfully entertained 
by one of their number at a March Hare Easter 
party. 

The invitations were bits of cardboard, folded dou- 
ble and cut in the shape of an old-fashioned silk hat, 
such as the Hatter wears in the illustrations of Alice's 



22 PARLOR GAMES 

Adventures in Wonderland. The fold, coming at the 
top of the hat, formed the hinge. A tiny sketch of 
the Mad March Hare decorated one of the cover 
pages and the expansive smile of the Cheshire Cat, 
the other. When unfolded the following lines were 
disclosed : 

The Looking-Glass people delighted will "be 
If you will consent to come and take tea 
On March twenty-ninth — very soon after three — 
With Alice, the Hatter, the March Hare and me. 

Dorothy Blake. 

The guests were received by the little hostess and 
her small brother. Dorothy was gowned in a quaint 
white frock with short puffed sleeves, full skirt, ruffled 
pinafore with pockets, blue and white striped stock- 
ings, blue sash; and with her hair brushed straight 
back and bound with a blue ribbon she looked as 
though she had just stepped out of one of the Lewis 
Carroll books. Her brother *s collar and tie of mon- 
strous size and his tall hat unmistakably proclaimed 
him to be the Hatter. 

Besides the usual childish games, a Caucus-race was 
a feature of the party. This Caucus-race differed 
somewhat from the one described by the Dodo in 
*' Alice in Wonderland.'* A basket of small inex- 
pensive toys with an Easter bunny mounting guard 
was placed in a corner of the room, and the chil- 
dren marched around the room in a circle to the 
music of the piano. When the music stopped the 
child nearest the basket selected a toy and dropped 
out of the race. The other children again took up the 
march, and this was repeated until each had a toy. 

Just before going home the children joined in a 
Humpty Dumpty hunt. A tiny basket was given to 
each and these they filled with the Humpty Dumpties 
(candy eggs) which were concealed about the rooms, 
and carried home with them. Anna Nixon. 



THEEE NEW BIETHDAY 
PAETIES 

A Marine Birthday Supper 

ONE of the girls in our bachelor girls' home 
would soon have a birthday. She had been 
sighing for a *' whiff of sea air/' being a 
sea-lover, but it was not to be had. The artist smiled 
meaningly, and when the ** Birthday" girl went out 
for the evening, unfolded her plan; it was hailed 
with delight and acted upon. The evening of the day, 
as ^* Birthday'' entered her room she found a note 
on the dressing-table requesting the pleasure of her 
company at a '^Marine Supper," and she was to 
dress accordingly. 

Three of the girls came in to escort her to the liv- 
ing-room. What a transformation had been effected ! 
Across the ceiling, over the mantel, and in corners a 
long piece of fish-net had been picturesquely draped. 
From its meshes hung seaweed and moss. In other 
meshes were cool-looking water views, and some of 
these were also grouped on the walls. Through it all 
''Birthday" plainly sniffed the odor she was home- 
sick for. 

Out in the dining-room the conglomeration of clams, 
seaweed and salt-water was perfect. In the center of 
the dining-table was placed a mirror, its edge encir- 
cled with pink-tinted seashells and seaweed. The 
center of the glass reflected a little yacht with its 
''white wings" spread, tiny lanterns with red and 
green lights swung from its masts, and corresponding 
23 



24 PARLOR GAMES 

lanterns of larger size depending from the fish-net 
furnished all the light needed. Seaweeds trailed all 
over the white cover, and large shells were utilized for 
the relishes. 

The supper commenced with clam bouillon. Then 
followed other marine dainties — lobster salad served 
on crisp lettuce leaves, baked clams on the half -shell, 
crabs served whole, and oysters. The dessert was 
Irish moss jelly, marshmallow cakes and a fruit 
punch. 

This delightful little surprise cost only three dollars 
— for the supper menu. The picture-dealer of whom 
tJae artist bought her supplies was glad to lend her 
any number of views, merely framed in *'mats.'' 
One of the girls had borrowed the piece of fish-net, 
and at the fish-market quantities of seaweed could be 
had for the asking. Another girl had a beautiful 
collection of seashells, little lanterns and ship models 
bequeathed her by an uncle who was a sea-captain. 
T. Celestine Cummings. 

An Overall Birthday Party 

These invitations were written: 

Dear Friend: 

Thursday will be my seventh birthday, 
And Mamraa says will you come and play 
From three o'clock till half -past six 
And help eat the 'freshments she will fix. 
We'll play outdoors if the weather is fair, 
So you needn't primp with very great care — 
Your second-best suits and dresses will do. 
And you'd better bring your overalls, too. 
Your Httle friend, 

Julia Brown. 

Several tables were placed together, making one 
long one to accommodate all the children. This was 
draped in snowy linen and decorated with clusters 
of green leaves. Delicious little home-made cakes iced 



AND PARTIES 25 

white with red candied cherries in the middle, and 
cherry ice cream served on old-fashioned blue dishes, 
were the ^ ^ 'f reshments. ' ' A large home-made birth- 
day cake, iced white, formed the centerpiece. A 
wreath of cherries and leaves surrounded the base, 
while seven red candles in green holders ornamented 
the top. In the middle was a pile of brown sugar 
representing a sand heap, surrounded by a crisscross 
■ ring of tiny spades made of red icing. On the top 
was a funny doll in blue overalls and red three-cor- 
nered cap. One hand apparently held a spade stick- 
ing in the sand, the other the staff of a flag that 
waved bravely overhead. At each place was a red, a 
white or a blue cap similar to the doll's, but larger. 
These the children put on when they came to the table 
each arrayed in the required blue overalls. 

From the table they went to the back yard, where 
three large piles of sand, with seven little spades to 
a pile, were in readiness. The children were formed 
into companies of seven, the reds, the whites and the 
blues, and at the tap of a drum marched to an allotted 
sand-pile, where each seized a spade and tried to see 
which company could make the handsomest fort in the 
given time. The reds won, and had the honor of 
carrying the flag and leading the way in the grand 
triumphal march about the premises. 

No prize was offered, but the children carried home 
their caps and spades and a package of the birthday 
cake. A mother who wished to add to this plan might 
put a doll in overalls at each place, and offer as a 
prize either a flag, a doll or a drum. 

Mrs. J. E. Heinzerling. 

An Old-Fashioned Birthday Surprise 

A party made up of delightful surprises was an 
old-fashioned one given by a bright, young girl in 
honor of a friend's birthday. The guest of honor 
understood that she was merely to call at the friend 's 



26 PARLOR GAMES 

home for her to accompany her to spend the evenmg 
at the home of another friend. The delusion was car- 
ried, still further by the darkened house and silent 
halls which met her. The lights flashed out, however; 
and the guests appeared from all corners simul- 
taneously. The party was an old-fashioned one; a 
buffet supper was served and consisted of good, old- 
fashioned edibles, the table being lighted by Colonial 
candles shaded with pink papers and decorated with 
pink roses. 

The birthday cake occupied a pedestal in the cen- 
ter of the table. It was iced in an old-fashioned 
fancy design, and attached to it were twenty-four 
ribbons to be held by the guests, all of whom pulled 
at once to find the ring, the thimble, the dime, the 
key and other souvenirs. 

Quaint, old-fashioned candy shapes in white, with 
all sorts of odd sentiments painted in red, were a 
satisfactory mode of communication; paper poppers, 
ABC books, etc., furnishing all sorts of fun. The 
birthday gifts to the guest of honor were a wonderful 
and mystifying collection of toys and trifles. Some 
of the young men laid great coffee-pots of sweet- 
meats at her feet, the handles tied with butterfly 
bows of gay ribbons. 

LiLLiE Martin. 



HOME PAETIES FOR 
GEOWN-UPS 

A Sampler Party 

AS THE hostess on this occasion was a Colonial 
Dame and her husband a member of the Cin- 
cinnati she was the possessor of many household 
treasures. Among others, she one day miearthed a 
sampler worked by one of her grandmothers in 1806, 
and the thought occurred to her to give it a one- 
hundredth birthday party. Invitations with quaint 
phraseology were sent out to about twenty friends, 
ending with : 

Come at four of the clock ; 
Bring your sampler and its history; 
Wear your granddam's clothes; 
Stay to tea. 

There was an immediate response, and a great rum- 
maging of garrets and trunks ensued, for all decided 
to wear whatever ^'grandmother'' garments they had 
or could borrow. 

The samplers were all dated, and ranged from 
1730 to 1835. As the guests' names were drawn 
from a hat each in turn occupied the center of the 
floor, displaying and describing her costume, sampler 
and other heirlooms. 

At six o'clock an old-fashioned supper was served, 
all the food having been cooked by recipes handed 
down from olden times, the long tables being set with 
old silver and china. Mrs. John B. Church. 

27 



28 PARLOR GAMES 

New Quotation Party 

The first of the players announces a word, as, for 
instance, ^Markness^'; the second must immediately 
repeat a quotation containing the word given, such as : 

* ' The darkness falls from the wings of night, 
As a feather is wafted downward from an eagle in his 
flight. ' ' 

The next player must seize upon any word in this 
quotation and announce it — as, for instance, ' ' eagle, ' ' 
and simultaneously produce his own quotation, which 
may be, perhaps, '^ ^What is that, mother?' 'An 
eagle, boy?' '' The next takes the word ^^Boy," 
for example, and proceeds with ** Little Boy Blue, 
come blow your horn.*' 

Any word may be chosen, and everything goes 
— Byronic flights or Mother Goose verse. 

The paying of forfeits as penalty for failure to 
produce a quotation in turn gives the hostess ample 
opportunity for bringing into prominence the talents 
of her guests. For instance, on an evening when this 
game is used, one penalty was the playing of an 
exquisite violin sonata; another was a flne recitation, 
etc. 

A dainty book of poems may be given as a first 
prize, and a waste-paper basket might insinuate to 
the booby that heretofore, apparently, he had found 
all literature fit only to throw away. 

Anne Waller Cocke. 

A Burnt-Wood Parly 

Coal is scarce! 

Come and burn wood at the home 

of 

Clara May Justice 

254 Woodland Avenue 

on January the ninth, nineteen hundred and fifteen 



AND PARTIES 29 

On the morning designated I received this invita- 
tion printed on a square piece of wood. My note of 
acceptance was not so original as that of a young 
man who sent a box in imitation of a lump of coal 
filled with pieces of licorice, and had written on the 
bottom of the box, ^^I will furnish my own fuel for 
the ^burning* — expect me!" 

After the guests had assembled our hostess an- 
nounced that we must collect the wood before we 
could burn it, and that we would find pieces of it 
hidden in the room. Small pieces of wood had been 
marked with numbers, and a few were burnt all over. 
We were told that the number indicated the value of 
the wood and the ones burnt were worth twenty plain 
ones. The prize for the victor was a large burnt- 
wood plaque. 

Next our hostess produced a large breadboard and 
a pyrography set. The board was placed on an easel 
and we were told that she desired a composite picture 
of *Hhe artistic efforts of those present." A sister 
of the hostess began by burning a tree, and each one 
was given a minute to burn his or her favorite ob- 
ject. The board was kept by the hostess as a souve- 
nir. A burnt-wood picture frame was given for the 
best '^one-minute" sketch. 

Our hostess next passed telegraph-blanks and en- 
velopes with the word '' Pyrography " written at the 
top of each blank. This word was to be the cipher 
to our telegrams. After we had racked our brains 
for our messages they were inclosed in the envelopes 
and each addressed to the neighbor on the left. They 
were then collected, delivered and signed for in a 
book, which was afterward kept by our hostess as a 
treasure of autographs of those who were present. 

Each telegram was read, much to the amusement of 
all; for example: 

(a) Put your rubbers on, Grace! Eain at present 
harms youngsters. 



30 PARLOR GAMES 

(&) Please your real old girl right away! Propose! 
Hurry yourself! 

The last one won a burnt-wood calendar. 

We were next invited to the dining-room, where a 
flashlight picture was taken after we were seated at 
table. The table was laid for twenty-two. A brown 
vase in the center held a huge bunch of flaming red 
carnations, while at each end, between the candle- 
sticks covered with red shades, were large burnt bowls 
filled with red apples and nuts. The dishes contain- 
ing relishes, etc., were all of burnt wood, as were 
also the large serving forks and spoons. At each 
place a burnt clothespin held a red folded paper nap- 
kin, and the plates were wooden, burnt in beautiful 
floral designs, each different from the other. We 
were served with cold sliced jellied chicken, dainty, 
little odd-shaped sandwiches, tomato salad with may- 
onnaise dressing, escalloped oysters, rolls, olives, dark 
fruitcake, bonbons, coffee and cocoa. 

After the refreshments had been partaken of, and 
all the dishes had been removed, a tray was brought 
in on which were tiny wooden cups and saucers. Our 
hostess passed one to each of us, calling us by our 
favorite nickname as she did so, and each one was 
surprised to find it burnt on the side of the cup. 
Mary Martha Campbell. 

Novel Birthday Present for an Invdid 

A young woman who had been identified in many 
of the activities of life was laid upon a bed of suf- 
fering and rendered almost helpless. 

At the beginning of her sickness she was a member 
of a choir, a missionary society, the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, and a literary club of young 
women who for several years had met weekly to 
study Greek art and literature. The members of this 
club, all busy women (nearly all breadwinners for 
themselves and others), found time to read their club 



AND PARTIES 31 

papers to the invalid, and took turns in reading to 
her selections from the book they were studying. For 
her last birthday they made a novel scrapbook. The 
idea originated with one of the club members. They 
selected rather stiff cardboard of different colors: 
dark red, green, gray, brown, black or white, as best' 
suited their purpose. This cardboard was bought 
in sheets twenty by thirty inches, and each member 
decorated one sheet on both sides according to her 
own fancy. One member of the club being a good 
photographer took the pictures of each member and 
filled one of her pages with these photographs, which 
she arranged to good advantage. This page especially 
delighted the invalid. 

A music-teacher decorated her two white pages with 
beautiful musical pictures which are so easily ob- 
tained. Above some of the pictures she wrote the 
notes of a strain or two of an appropriate song. 

A fellow-member of the Missionary Society made a 
missionary page, using pictures of missionaries, scenes 
from mission lands, and short articles about the work 
that the sick girl loved. 

A gray backgTound was selected as suitable for a 
Greek page. On this were artistically arranged pic- 
tures of the Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, temples 
and scenes, with a quotation or two from the Iliad 
or some of the Greek plays. 

There was a Children's page, a Madonna page, a 
Daughters of the American Revolution page, a 
Christmas page and other appropriate pages. 

There were twelve of these sheets, each having 
both sides filled with pictures, interspersed with 
poems, sketches, bright jokes and music. Two holes 
were made in the top of each sheet, one inch from 
the top edge and niae inches from the outer edge; 
soft ribbon one inch wide was run through these 
holes. This held all the sheets together. 

Henrietta E. Story. 



WAYS THAT INSUEB GOOD 
TIMES 

THE hostess wlio was at her wit's end for a way 
to decorate her luncheon table, as she could 
not afford the expense of buying cut flowers, 
turned to her window-box of geraniums for help. 
The inspiration bore fruit, and six geranium plants 
were soon grouped in the center of her party-table. 
The pots were covered with green paper, and later, 
from the woods she gathered enough wild grapevine 
leaves to mass around the pots — close up to the bright- 
hued flowers. The effect was charming. 

A happy girl designed and made some linen card- 
cases for souvenirs of the luncheon that was to be 
given in honor of an October bride. The ends of 
pieces of linen, each four inches by eleven in size, 
were folded over towards each other, almost meeting 
in the center. The edges — top and bottom — ^were 
turned in and neatly stitched together; the two inside 
edges were scalloped with buttonhole-stitch. Small 
monograms were embroidered in the lower right-hand 
comer in the front of the case, appropriate, of course, 
for each of the invited guests. The cardcase for the 
bride-elect was made of white linen, others of light 
green, a few of blue, and one or two of tan color. 
The guests were charmed with these dainty souvenirs, 
which proved most acceptable for use all of the fol- 
lowing summer. 

It was a bright idea to make ribbon photograph- 
folios for souvenirs of an autumn bride's party. 
32 



AND PARTIES 33 

Three-quarters of a yard of satin ribbon was used for 
each souvenir — white ribbon for the bride and moss- 
green ribbon for the guests. On the white ribbon 
strip for the bride, at even spaces apart, snapshot 
photographs of all the guests present were pasted, 
and their four corners held firmly in place by trian- 
gular-shaped pieces of green mounting cardboard. 
On the folio for the guests, pictures of the bride and 
hostess only were pasted and held in place by corner 
pieces of gray cardboard. At the top of each rib- 
bon the date of the luncheon and appropriate greet- 
ing were lettered in gilt. White cord loops were 
sewed on at one end, and buttons at the other. After 
being creased between each two pictures the strips 
were folded up and fastened. Much curiosity was 
aroused among the guests as to the meaning of the 
closed folios; they looked like small books. A name- 
card was tied to each one with ribbon to match. 

Any one can do this and help to make a picnic 
luncheon appetizing: Remove the skin from ripe 
tomatoes, make a hollow in the top of each tomato 
by removing part of it, and wrap each tomato in a 
large lettuce leaf or a cabbage leaf and pack closely 
into a pan. In a separate dish carry salad dressing, 
and just before serving fill the hollows in the toma- 
toes with the salad dressing. 

Don't be discouraged if you are not the owner of 
glass or silver candlesticks with which to decorate 
your party-table. One girl recently did this clever 
thing. She purchased a dozen carrots as even and 
regular in size as she could get them. Each one was 
sliced off at the wide end to form a base, while a 
hole large enough to hold a candle was hollowed out 
of the top. When finished with a little green vine 
twisted around each one they were extremely pretty 
and decorative and gave the finishing touch to a table 
trimmed with leaves and autumn fruits. 



CHILDREN'S MEREY FROLICS 

The Dukes of Marlborough 

JUDGING from its name this game must have 
come to us originally from across the Atlantic. 
Two children, a boy and a girl, if possible, are 
chosen to represent the Dukes. The others stand in 
a long line opposite them. The Dukes advance toward 
them singing: 

*'Here come two Dukes of Marlborough, 
With a ransom, tansom, tismal, tee. 
Here comes two Dukes of Marlborough, 
With a ransom, tansom, tee." 

The line responds, singing: 

' ' What is your will with us, sirs. 
With a ransom, tansom, tismal, tee? 
What is your will with us, sirs, 
With a ransom, tansom, tee?" 

The Dukes: 

''Our wish is to be married. 
With a ransom, tansom, tismal, tee. 
Our wish is to be married, 
With a ransom, tansom, tee." 

The line: 

''Will any of us do, sirs. 
With a ransom, tansom, tismal, tee?" etc. 

The Dukes : 

"You're all too black and brown, sirs. 
With a ransom, tansom, tismal, tee," etc. 
34 



AND PARTIES 35 

The line: 

''We're good enough for you, sirs, 
With a ransom, tansom, tismal, tee, ' ' etc. 

The Dukes: 

"We'll take the fairest of you, 
With a ransom, tansom, tismal, tee," etc. 

The Dukes each choose a child from the line and then 
advance again, singing: 

' ' Here come four Dukes of Marlborough, ' ' etc. 

The verses are repeated again and again until all are 
chosen or the game palls. 

Elizabeth Robinson Scovil. 

Peter in the Bramble-Bush 

Two rows of children sit opposite each other, close 
enough so that their toes can touch, and their out- 
stretched legs are the ^'brambles." Place an empty 
chair at the far end of the lin*, for this is "Peter's" 
home, and a boy is chosen as ''Peter." Blindfold 
* ' Peter, ' ' and then have alternate pairs stick out their 
legs and make the ' ' brambles. " ' ' Peter, ' ' with hands 
tied together, must leap over the ''brambles" and 
reach his home in safety. As soon as "Peter" starts 
on his homeward journey all "brambles" are silently 
redrawn and the passage left free. To see "Peter" 
trying to leap over the "brambles" which are not 
there is very amusing. 

Percy William Holt. 

Birds in the Nest 

In order to play "Birds in the Nest" three birds 
must first be picked out. This is done by means of 
a rhyme-and-mark arrangement. The mark is any 
prominent object in the near baekgTOund. It may 
be a door or window. Forming a circle, the children 



36 PARLOR GAMES 

who are to play the game revolve slowly as they re- 
peat the following verses. As the last word is spoken 
they halt, and that child standing in line with the 
mark, or most nearly so, is considered a *^bird.*' 
This circling and rhyme are repeated three times: 

^'We make a nest all soft and round; 
We build it up, we build it down; 
No daintier shelter shall be found 
Than this one for our birdies." 

The last of the three having been selected, they 
take their places inside the ring of children. They 
are then in the ^^nest," and at once begin to struggle 
.to get out. As the others brace themselves to with- 
stand the attack they exclaim reprovingly ; 

''What, would you leave your cozy home? 
Oh, naughty birds to wish to roam ! ' ' 

Instead of restraining them this reproof seems only 
to exasperate them, and they endeavor still harder 
to free themselves. When they at last escape every 
one else goes after them pell-mell. One set of 
*' birds" having been caught, another is chosen, and 
60 the game continues until there are not enough play- 
ers left in the ring to make the fun enjoyable. 

Grace Campbell Moore. 

A Menagerie 

Slips of paper, with numbers for answers, were 
distributed and descriptions of animals native to the 
State were read, and the children guessed the names 
of the animals. A few of the descriptions given 
were as follows: 

I am a long, slender-bodied fellow with rich, brown 
fur, and I live in the water. I am so quick in my 
movements that I can dodge the shot from a gun if 
I see the person shoot. I am very fond of fish. La- 
dies have muffs and scarfs made of my fur. (Otter.) 



AND PARTIES 37 

Negroes and dogs both like me so much that they 
are conthaually hunting me. I am brown, with mule- 
ears, short forelegs and long hindlegs. I can ever- 
lastingly run up hill, but simply tumble all over 
everything when I attempt to run down hill. Tur- 
nips, potatoes and peach-tree bark give me a very 
contented feeling. (Rabbit.) 

My family name is Feline, but ordinary folks pro- 
nounce it Cat. I am a distant relative of Tabby who 
lives with you, and my home is in the woods. I 
wear grayish clothes, and let my fingernails grow long. 
Nothing pleases me better than to cry like a baby 
in distress, for this helps me to find my prey, and 
I pounce upon it fromj the branches of a trea 
(Panther.) 

Then came the making of the menageries by the 
children. Grotesque human heads had been drawn 
at the top of pieces of notepaper, and the paper had 
been folded to hide the heads and show just the ends 
of the necks, which were drawn to suggest different 
animals. The children then drew bodies of animals 
as fancy dictated, and the results were ludicrous in 
the extreme. 

When these drawings had been finished, and before 
the *^ artists'' themselves had seen them, they were 
hung on a string which was stretched across the room 
and the crowd inspected the menagerie. 

IVlRS. E. B. Mell. 



GAMES FOR THE PLAYaROUND 

A Kitten Frolic 

THE invitation notes, folded and placed in tiny 
baskets, which go out in the name of the hos- 
tess's mother, read like this: 

Meow! 

My three little kittens have lost their mittens and want 
you to come and help hunt for them. Kitties Bob and 
Janet and Margaret invite you to a party in their basket 
on Thursday, at half -past three o'clock. They will do 
their best to a-mews you. 

The Kittens' Mother, 

Mrs. Matthews. 
The Basket, No. 231 Poplar Street. 
Friday, May 3. 

Real names must, of course, be inserted to fit the 
occasion. These invitations may be carried to the 
several houses by the children. 

On the house door, the day the party is given, 
hang a large basket containing one or two toy pus- 
sies, letting the children tie it there just before the 
hour named in the invitation. It will designate the 
house with certainty and place the small guests. As 
soon as all have arrived set the little ones hunting 
the ^'lost mittens." A multitude of these articles 
should have been got ready, cut out of different- 
colored cloths, either in doll or in giant sizes. These 
are to be strewn and hung about the grounds, in 
sight, but partly concealed; and besides these there 
should be a number of average-sized mittens carefully 
38 



AND PARTIES 39 

hidden. The little ones will at first rush for the ones 
in sight, and will bring these to the * * kittens ' mother ' ' 
to see if they are not the ones that are ''lost/' Only- 
mittens that fit, however, count, so, after many fool- 
ish attempts, the children will begin to show wisdom 
in their hunting or will have gathered up all the 
''decoys" and will have begun to find the real mit- 
tens. It will then be a matter of good fortune 
whether they find any to fit, or nearly fit, their own 
hands. The hostess will not be too strict in judging 
this, of course, and as she examines each mitten will 
slyly slip into it a simple candy, then drawing it on 
again. In this way the reward will be sure to be 
discovered, and will come as a delightful surprise. 

When game-playing begins "Creepy Pussy" is 
one that leaves no one out, and there should be 
plenty of space for it. One of the little ones is 
chosen "Pussy," and she heads and leads a proces- 
sion of the others in a roundabout course through 
the grounds. All who follow her constitute the 
"tail." Slowly all move about in slightly-crouching 
posture and with watchful eye, as if on a hunting 
expedition, while "Pussy" constantly cries, "Pussy 
wants to catch a mouse!" Each time she does this 
the others chorus, ' ' Cree-e-py, creep Pussy ! ' ' Every 
now and then, at her own whim, "Pussy" straight- 
ens up and makes a dash at her "tail," seeking to 
catch one of its members. They do not follow abso- 
lutely close to her, so that there is a chance for 
them to escape. When she jumps for them all the 
children scatter and run, "Pussy" catching whom 
she can. As suits the players, the children caught 
at the various dashes can stand aside and wait until 
all are captured, at the end the first victim becoming 
"Puss." 

The table, which may be outdoors if the day is 
fine, should play an important part in the entertain- 
ment, in its decoration at least. Fold the napkins 



40 PARLOR GAMES 

and pin them in the mouths of small, stuffed, black, 
furry kittens, standing one of these at each plate. For 
a centerpiece a large cat with some kittens on her back 
would please. 

Encircle it at a little distance with a wreath of 
green, and dot this with small bisque dogs all facing 
the cat. Less expensive would be pussy-willow dec- 
orations. Any child would like to find a ^^ Grimal- 
kin'^ on a bread-and-butter plate at his or her place 
at the table. These may be gingerbread cakes marked 
with a cat's face in colored frostings. The mouth is 
made of red, outlined with white, and with long, 
white mustaches added. White is also used to make 
the nose, and the eyes are irresistible when done with 
the pupil of chocolate on a white ball, with half the 
pupil covered with a small light-green bonbon. 

The Organ-Grinder's Monkeys 

All the little players are ''monkeys" with the ex- 
ception of the ''Grinder." Going to each one the 
"Grinder" asks it what its special trick is. One, 
perhaps, can make a bow and doff his cap, while 
another knows how to hold his cap and catch pen- 
nies. Each has an accomplishment which the 
"Grinder" finds so valuable to him that he decides 
to take all the "monkeys" with him on his travels. 

It is his intention to make use of several among 
them to amuse the various crowds that he draws 
about him, but as he tries each one he finds that it 
does not perform its part well. As he calls each out 
he becomes enraged with it, and cries: "You're a 
bad beast! I'll shut you in my cellar!" And he 
at once claps them into it by leading them to a 
spot set apart as the cellar. The "monkeys" must 
not move from that place until the last one is 
brought there, when all run away. The "Grinder" 
follows until he has caught one to take his place. 
Grace Campbell Moore. 



VACATION GAMES FOR 
CHILDREN 

The Russian Game "Gorelki'* 

THE Russian games are mostly of the strenuous 
order, for the sake of the health-promoting 
exercise; the girls take part on perfect equality 
with the boys. One game that is usually played upon 
the lawn is called ^^Gorelki" (Burning). The chil- 
dren are arranged in couples, number unlimited, and 
not restricted in arrangement as to sex, two boys 
pairing off, or two girls, or one of each kind, ac- 
cording to convenience. Then they march in pro- 
cession behind a single leader in the capacity known 
in this country as * ^ It. ' ' Suddenly the leading couple, 
who are directly behind this leader, cry out: 

* ^ Gori, gori yasno ! 
Shtobj mie pogasto; 
Glian na niebo — 
Ptehka letit." 

("Burn, burn brightly! 

So the fire does not go out; 

Look at the sky — 

A bird is flying,") 

At this the leader looks upward, and the couple 
seize the opportunity to part and run, one on each 
side of him, making a rush for the front. If they 
can do this, and clasp hands again in front of him, 
before he can grasp one of them, which he tries his 
41 



42 PARLOR GAMES 

best to do, they can then go to the bottom of the 
liiie and continue to march, while the next couple try 
the same thing. But if the leader catch one of them 
before they have clasped hands the captive must be 
**It,'' and yield his partner to his captor, when the 
new pair thus made take their place at the foot of 
the line, which keeps marching all the time. Some- 
times they cover considerable space before all the 
couples have had an opportunity to run. 

Margaret Sullivan Burke. 

The Canadian Game "C'est Ouvert'' 

Besides games which French-Canadian children 
share with us, there are many never seen except in 
Canada. One of the liveliest is *'C'est Ouverf (It 
is Open). The children playing, of whom there must 
be an even number, are divided into two groups, each 
having a leader. One leader throws a stick to the 
other, who catches it in his right hand. Then the 
two leaders alternately place a hand on the stick, 
one above the other, till the top is reached. He 
whose hand comes out on top takes the stick and 
twirls it, holding it by the tip, three times around 
his head. If he drops it the other side wins; if not, 
his side hides first while the others cover their eyes. 
After hiding his party he returns, and those who have 
been blindfolded set out to find them. There are three 
signals by which the leader may warn his foUowei^ 
how to escape detection: ^^ Citron'' (lemon) sig- 
nifies *'Go back"; '' Papier" (paper) signifies 
^^Keep quiet"; ''Potacks porrits" (rotten potatoes) 
means ''Come out a little." Of course, a clever 
leader uses the signals not only to warn his own side 
but also to mystify his opponents. When at last the 
other side is far enough from the goal he suddenly 
shouts, ''C'est ouvert! C'est ouvert! C'est ouvert!" 
At that every child in the game rushes like mad for 
the goal; there is wild confusion of arms and legs 



AND PARTIES 43 

and a Babel of voices. The side which first reaches 
the goal hides the second time, and so the game goes 
on. Ellen Paine Huling. 

A Fourth-of-JuIy Frolic 

The invitations were rolled tightly and put into a 
tube made of red paper, having a cord in one end 
in imitation of firecrackers. The first game played 
was similar to the game ^'Nine Pins,'' nine *' fire- 
crackers" having been cut from broom-handles and 
painted red, with white ends, surmounted by a piece 
of starched cord glued to each. The ** crackers'' 
were arranged at one end of the room, and from 
the opposite end each player rolled a large rubber 
ball, aiming to knock down the ** firecrackers. " Each 
player rolled once, and when all had had a turn they 
started it again until every one had had three turns. 
After each play the contestant was given a star for 
each *^ firecracker" knocked over, and when the game 
was over the child whose card showed the largest num- 
ber of stars was awarded a small prize; a consolation 
prize was also given. The stars were cut with a 
punch from red paper, one side of which had been 
brushed with the white of an egg. 

Luncheon was served on the lawn, in a tent dec- 
orated with bunting. The tablecloth was white, the 
napkins were cut from blue tissue-paper. The cen- 
terpiece was unique. By means of rather fine wire 
the hostess had constructed the frame of a fort, and 
had covered it with brown paper; with charcoal she 
had outlined open portholes with jagged edges to 
give them a battered appearance. Inside the fort 
were small gifts, suggestive of the day, each wrapped 
in red, white and blue paper and tied with ribbon 
which was drawn through the portholes and ex- 
tended to each white place-card. As the hostess 
fired a toy pistol the ribbons were pulled and the 
fort was blown up. The toys were kept as favors. 



44 PARLOR GAMES 

The menu, as far as possible, was given a touch 
of red, white and blue. 

For an hour after dark the children were enter- 
tained with a fine disjilay of fireworks. 

Mrs. E. W. GoDrREY. 

Sand Clock 

On pleasant days the children played ^'Sand 
Clock.'' As it calls for considerable running it was 
not proposed until late in the afternoon, when the 
warmest part of the day was over. Then a large 
clock-face was marked out on the damp beach, and 
thirteen children took part in the frolic. One was 
chosen ^^ Striker,'' and she counted out the others 
by repeating ^'Tick! Tock!" touching one at a time 
as she spoke. All the '^Ticks'' represented the odd 
numbers on the clock's face, and the ^^Tocks" the 
even ones. Beginning with number one all the 
^'Ticks'' took their places in the order in which they, 
had been counted out, standing just outside the clock 
circle at the figures three, five, seven, nine and eleven ; 
while the ^^Tocks" followed their example, begin- 
ning, however, with the figure two. At a signal from 
the *' Striker" each child faced about and took as 
many steps away from the clock circle as she repre- 
sented hours, whether it were one, five, or twelve. 
When all stood in position there came a general out- 
cry of '^What time does the sand clock say*?" 

At this the ^'Striker," who had been skipping in 
and out among them, suddenly slapped a player on 
the back, and then ran around the clock as fast as 
possible, with the child that had been struck hard 
after her. The latter tried her best to catch the 
^'Striker," while that one strove equally hard to 
reach the other child's position uncaught. She suc- 
ceeded in doing this, although she had first to run 
up to the figure on the clock to which the position 
corresponded and there ^Hell the hour" by saying 



AND PARTIES 45 

' ^ Ding-dong !' ' before she could go to her goal. The 
chaser having lost her position on the clock's face 
in this way became ^'Striker/' and a new round of 
the game was begun. 

Hillocks 

This game became almost as popular with the chil- 
. dren during the summer as golf was with their gTown 
friends. Everywhere in front of the cottages, until 
the tide came up, the moist beach could be seen seem- 
ingly laid out in a design of nine cones of sand. 
They were really mounds or hillocks with cone-shaped 
tops, and a broad, shallow ditch around their bases. 
The children built them without any regularity of 
position when making up a game, all that was neces-. 
sary being that there should be nine of them and that 
they should be at least a couple of yards apart. The 
tops of the cones they flattened jjist enough to pro- 
vide a resting place for a golf ball. Then they num- 
bered the hillocks, and, having on hand a quantity of 
small rattan hoops that they had spliced together 
themselves, were ready to begin the game. One hoop 
was all a player needed, and as many as chose could 
enter a contest, each trying to be first to knock off 
the balls from the nine hillocks with the hoops. One 
at a time a child would begin at the first hillock, and, 
tossing the hoop with such a skimming motion as one 
uses in skipping pebbles over the water, would try 
to strike the ball from the cone. Three trials were 
allowed. When a player succeeded she moved to the 
next hillock and awaited her turn again. If a hoop 
slipped down over a cone, but did not knock off the 
ball, the player lost her remaining chances for that 
turn. If a hoop fell into the ditch then the player 
moved back a hillock, unless she were playing at the 
first cone, when she would merely forfeit the rest 
of her chances. 

There is a peculiar turn of the wrist in tossing 



46 PARLOR GAMES 

the hoop that has everything to do with the success 
of the game, and the fact that it takes practice to 
acquire it undoubtedly adds zest to the sport. 

The Innocents Abroad 

A ** Courier" and a '* Chaperon'' accompany the 
'^Innocents Aboard," and the number of ^^Inno- 
cents" may be unlimited: the more children taking 
part the merrier. 

Very properly the *^ Conductor" starts the others 
on their travels, supplying each with a letter of the 
alphabet, marked on a slip of paper large and dis- 
tinctly. Then he unexpectedly pounces upon some 
member of his party and asks, ** Where are you 
going?" The child called upon must give the name 
of some country commencing with the letter he holds 
in his hand, and must answer immediately. The 
^^ Courier" then rapidly asks four other questions, 
which must be as quickly answered. If any one of 
them is not answered at once by the player addressed 
the chance is that the ** Chaperon" will answer it 
for him and he must then take her place. It is the 
*^ Chaperon's" sole effort to correct or ^'trip" a 
player, for this alone frees her from her position. 
She is enabled to answer the question because the 
player addressed holds up to view the letter in his 
hand as soon as he is spoken to. The '* Courier" is 
not released until he has asked a question that neither 
the player nor the ''Chaperon" can answer in time. 
If, however, he does not succeed in doing this for a 
very long time he should be replaced by a volunteer. 

The game should move briskly; the questions should 
be constantly varied in subject as well as in the order 
of asking; and the ''Courier" should skip about 
from one to the other, not addressing the players in 
order. Many of the answers will be given so quickly 
as to be absurd, but this will only help on the fun. 

G. C. Moore. 



AND PARTIES 47 

Three Sand Plays 

The Game of Lobster Pot. — ^When it was a rol- 
licking good time without any trouble that was wanted 
some one would cry, ** Let's play Lobster Pot or 
Fiddler Crab." The more players there were the 
better the children liked it. 

A third of the group would decide to be Lobsters 
when the first-mentioned game was chosen, and the 
others would form themselves into a long chain of 
Fishermen. Wide bounds were then decided upon, 
where the Lobsters could run about at will, and where 
the line of Fishermen could seek to corner them and 
close up about them, one at a time. Whenever they 
succeeded in encircling a Lobster that child joined 
the chain, and so the game went on until the last 
had been captured. Then all the Lobsters dropped 
out of the line, which closed up about them in a cir- 
cle. This was the ** Lobster Pot,'' and then followed 
a hard struggle until a fortunate Lobster succeeded 
in breaking through. This freed all the others and 
ended that turn of the game. 

Fiddler Crab. — The child that was chosen to be 
Fiddler Crab seated himself on the sand, drew up his 
knees and dropped his head on them as if asleep. 
Then the other children made a circle about him, 
and, dancing around him, chanted: 

''Fiddler Crab, Fiddler Crab, 
Crusty, cross old fellow! 
Wake up and get your work done, 

Or we'll beat you black and yellow." 

As they flung this taunting threat at the Crab the 
dancers kicked their feet out toward him, and he, 
slyly watching his chance out of the comers of his 
eyes, suddenly lifted his head and reached quickly 
for an ankle or foot, and, if successful, fastened his 
grip as tenaciously as any real crab would do. The 



48 PARLOR GAMES 

circle tried to prevent this by drawing away on the 
side toward which he was reaching, and by springing 
back on the other side when he unexpectedly reached 
out. As soon as he caught any one that player and 
he changed places. 

Sand Ball. — Among the boys this game proved a 
great favorite, and the girls sometimes played it, too. 
It is a game for seven players. Four of the children 
indicated a rectangular field on the beach by seating 
themselves at its four corners, and facing each other 
diagonally. Another player seated himself in the 
center, facing one of the comer sitters. At the ends 
of the field two others stood, to catch the ball if it 
strayed. It was a baseball, and the sitter at the right 
of the center boy started the play by tossing it to 
the sitter diagonally opposite him. Meantime the 
center boy tried with a tennis-racquet to bat the ball 
to the sitter directly in front of him. Five chances 
were his, and if he lost all of them then the player on 
his right changed positions with him. When he suc- 
ceeded in striking it the ball usually went out of 
bounds and had to be rescued by one of the end boys. 
It then belonged to them to use, and they rolled it 
back and forth to one another, directly across the 
parallelogram in front of the center boy. This player 
tried to catch it with his hands as it passed, having 
the same number of tries as before. In catching the 
ball he had to be careful not to withdraw his feet 
from a stone that marked the center of the field. If 
he missed all his turns the player on his right took 
his place, as he would have done had the center lost 
his former opportunities. When, however, he suc- 
ceeded he had another five chances, this time facing 
about toward the other diagonal sitters, whose turn 
it then was to pitch the ball. 

When the end boys were so fortunate as to put out 
two center boys they took the places of those they 
had just vanquished. 



AND PARTIES 49 

It was only while the first center boy was on his 
position that the player on his right succeeded to 
his place. Afterward the successors followed around 
the square, every center miss being followed by the 
substitution of the unlucky one by a boy from that 
comer next in order to serve. 

Sometimes idle moments were whiled away by 
guessing how far up a wave would come, the best 
guesser crowing loudly over the others. 

Then, ^^just for fun,'' the children would write 
out a longed-for wish, inclose it in a tin box and bury 
it in the sand where the tide would rise over it at 
night. Early the next morning they would be out 
to search for their boxes, and if they found them 
felt sure that their desires would come true. 

Grace Campbell Moore. 

Child's Botanical Outing 

''Now, children," I said when we reached the pic- 
nic grounds, *'I want each one of you to search this 
bluff and the surrounding fields and pick a sample 
of every flower you can find. In half an hour I 
shall call you, and the two who have the largest col- 
lections will receive prizes." 

Immediately there was a rush and a scattering in 
every direction, and until time was called the woods 
and fields rang with their eager cries. 

When I called them in and examined their collec- 
tions one boy had found twenty-six different varie- 
ties of flowers, and the girl who came second had 
twenty-six. 

With the help of a botanical handbook we found 
their names, after which I placed them in the books 
between sheets of blotting-paper. 

For the first prize I gave a copy of ' ' How to Know 
the Wild Flowers," and for the second, a small 
magnifying glass. 



50 PARLOR GAMES 

The flowers when pressed were neatly mounted with 
their names, and are still a source of great pleasure 
to the children. William E. Grant. 

A Juvenile State Ball 

A clever hostess invited a party of children to a 
State Ball on the evening of the Fourth of July. 
The mothers were requested to come in Colonial cos- 
tume and each was requested to dress her child to rep- 
resent one of the States. 

On the eventful evening the lawn was illuminated 
with red, white and blue lanterns, while the interior 
of the house was gayly decorated with red, white and 
blue bunting. 

The hostess herself was dressed as Columbia, in 
red and white skirts and a blue bodice trimmed with 
stars. The host impersonated ,Uncle Sam. 

When the children gathered they presented a pretty 
sight. Florida was trimmed with imitation orange 
blossoms and leaves ; Kentucky with gilt horseshoes and 
imitation blue gi^ass. Kansas wore a little gown 
trimmed with strung grains of red, white and pur- 
plish-blue corn. Maine was decorated with pine- 
cones and imitation pine-needles; Iowa with wheat- 
heads. California was enriched with gold ornaments, 
and Mississippi wore a trimming of Southern moss. 
The little girls had their hair powdered and arranged 
high on their little heads. 

Music had been provided and floated out from be- 
hind the trees. The tables were set out under the 
branches and draped with the National colors and 
lighted by red, white and blue lanterns. The re- 
freshments were very light, consisting of angel and 
strawberry cake, and strawberry and raspberry ice 
cream. 

Patriotic airs, ^^ Yankee Doodle,'^ ^* Dixie,'' etc., 
were played, and later there was dance music to which 
the children danced on the lawn. Clara Lehrke. 



AND PARTIES 51 

For a Midsummer Day 

When the children are off for a day's pleasure dur- 
ing their summer holidays, suggest to them that they 
spend part of their day in gathering wild flowers and 
making bouquets for any sick children whom they 
may know, or any children who, for any reason, have 
not been able to go with them. Then during the heat 
of the afternoon let some one who happens to have 
a lead-pencil and some paper get the children to dic- 
tate some little personal messages to go with the 
bouquets. The children, if encouraged to spend part 
of their holiday in thinking about and planning for 
others, will remember the day as one of the happiest 
in their lives, for upon it they will have learned the 
lesson that *Ho give is more blessed than to receive.'' 

Jane Benson. 

July Military Bubble Party 

The invitations sent out for this Fourth of July 
had daintily-sketched soap-bubble pipes and flags in 
the comer, giving an artistic touch to the little cards. 

The house and porch were gayly decorated with 
flags of all countries. There were three tables placed 
conveniently about the grounds, each table represent- 
ing some country, with a glass jar in the center filled 
with sand, flaunting the flag of the chosen country. 
There was also a bowl of sparkling soapsuds on each 
table. Each child was given a clay pipe gayly dec- 
orated with ribbons in the Fourth's own colors, red, 
white and blue. Three '* blowers" bearing flags of 
one country would be sent to fight those of another. 
If they won they planted their flags and stayed there 
to defend the country ; otherwise, they fled to another 
country to try their powers. America, England and 
Germany were the Powers, represented. 

At the first table the fight was to blow the biggest 
bubble, the countries represented blowing in turns. 



52 PARLOR GAMES 

Then at the second table each country tried to see 
who could throw the most bubbles from a pipe dipped 
only once in the suds. 

At the third table each country fought to lodge 
the bubble on the flag in the center of the table. 

A drum was used instead of a bell to make the 
progressions. 

America won, and her representatives received little 
drums filled with candy, with a tiny American flag 
stuck in each. 

The little supper that followed, in deference to the 
day had its decorations all of a patriotic nature. On 
the white cloth were strips of red, white and blue 
bunting, which extended the length of the table. In 
the center was a bowl appropriately filled with red 
clover, white daisies and blue bachelor-buttons. At 
the left of each plate stood a huge giant cracker, 
with a bunch of firecrackers tied on one side with 
blue and white ribbon ; the cracker was filled half-way 
with bonbons, and a paper napkin with flag ornaments 
was stuck in it. As far as possible the dishes were 
all in red, white and blue. Red, white and blue rib- 
bons were used to tie the sandwiches. The cream was 
in little red, white and blue drums, with a little sol- 
dier with tiny drumsticks tied to one side, and with 
the cream novel little firecracker cakes were served, 
which were made in this manner: A thin sponge- 
cake was cut while hot into pieces about six by four 
inches, the sides were pinched together forming big 
firecracker shapes; these were covered with an icing 
tinted a deep pink, and for fuses, twine two inches 
in length was coated with the icing and placed in 
each cracker. 

It might be well to add that a tablespoonful of 
glycerine and half a teaspoonful of sugar were added 
to the bowls of soapy water, which gave size, beauty 
and durability to the bubbles. Lillie Martin. 



OLD GAMES THAT CHILDREN 
LOVE BEST 

THE simple games that have amused countless 
children in past generations have dropped out 
of use in modem days, and it is high time they 
were revived. Mothers will be glad to be reminded of 
games they have forgotten. 

Entertainments, even for the very little ones, have 
become so elaborate that the idea of showing them 
how to amuse themselves is lost sight of. If they 
will kindly be interested in a musical top, a sym- 
metroscope, a kinematograph or a graphophone the 
hostess congratulates herself, and the one whose turn 
it is to entertain them next racks her brain to find 
some novelty. 

Healthy, normal children like a good romp, and 
find pleasure in games that to the grown-up mind 
seem simple to the verge of inanity. 

The following may all be played with enjoyment 
by children from five to ten years old, and the first 
by those even younger: 

The Gooseberry Bush 

The children join hands and dance around in a 
ring singing: 

'^Here we go round the gooseberry bush, 
The gooseberry bush, the gooseberry bush, 
Here we go round the gooseberry bush, 
So early in the morning.** 

They stop and the leader sings, all singing with her 
53 



54 PARLOR GAMES 

and imitating her action as she rubs her face with 

her hands: 

"This is the way I wash my face, 
I wash my face, I wash my face, 
This is the way I wash my face, 
So early in the morning. ' ' 

Joining hands again they dance as before, singing: 
'^Here we go round the gooseberry bush,'' etc. At 
the next stop the leader sings: ^'This is the way I 
brush my hair,'' repeating as in the first verse. 

After the next dance she sings: '^This is the way 
I wash my clothes," etc.; then: ^'This is the way I 
iron my clothes," etc., illustrating with appropriate 
action of rubbing and smoothing, all the children 
joining. 

After the next refrain she sings, taking a few slow 
steps and dragging her feet: '^This is the way I go 
to school," etc. Then jumping joyously with smiling 
face: '^This is the way I come from school," etc. 

The refrain, ^^Here we go round the gooseberry 
bush," and a merry dance end the game. 

Fox and Goose 

This game is simplicity itself, yet it provokes 
shouts of merriment from the players. 

Two of the taller members of the party are chosen 
as Fox and Goose. Mother Goose gathers her flock 
in a long string behind her. The Fox stands facing 
her, trying to dive under her outstretched arms and 
capture the last of her train. If he succeeds the 
victim is put out of the game, which lasts until all 
the Geese are caught by the Fox, or a time limit may 
be imposed by the hostess. 

Little Sally Waters 

Two cushions are placed on the floor and the chil- 
dren form a ring around them, holding each other's 



AND PARTIES 55 

hands. One child sits in the middle pretending to 
cry, representing the weeping Sally. The children 
dance around her singing: 

''Little Sally Waters sitting in the sun, 

Crying because her mother hasn't come; 

Else up, Sally, dry up your tears. 

Turn to the East and turn to the West, 

And turn to the one that you love best." 

Sally rises, wipes her eyes and walks slowly around 
the ring until she reaches the companion she intends 
to honor, when she takes her by the hand and leads 
her to the cushion prepared for her. Both seat them- 
selves and the children dance around them singing: 

''Oh, Sister Phoebe, how happy were we 
The day we sat under the juniper tree. 
Put on your cap to keep your head warm, 
And two or three kisses will do us no harm." 

The two in the middle exchange kisses, the first 
child rises, takes her place in the ring, and the game 
is repeated until all have been chosen. 

My Lady's Toilette 

The children are seated about the room. One of 
the older ones stands in the middle of the floor with 
a plate, a tin pie-dish or a wooden bread-platter in 
her hands. Each child takes the name of some article 
required in a lady's toilette, such as hairpin, brush, 
mirror, scent-bottle, etc. The leader spins the platter, 
at the same time calling the name of one of the arti- 
cles. The child who has chosen that article must 
spring and catch the platter before it falls. If she 
fails she must pay a forfeit. 

Redeeming the forfeits is a game in itself. 

Oranges and Lemons 

Two of the taller children stand facing one another, 
the right hand of each clasped in the left hand of the 



56 PARLOR GAMES 

other. They decide secretly which will be oranges 
and which lemons. The remaining children form a 
long line, as in Fox and Goose, and march toward 
them. When the foremost child reaches them all in 
the line sing: 

''Open the gates as high as the sky, 
And let King George's men go by." 

The two with clasped hands raise them as high as 
possible to form an arch, and let the line pass under. 
As the last child is going through, the hands are 
dropped on each side of her to hold her prisoner, 
and one of the leaders asks her in a whisper which 
she will have, oranges or lemons. She replies, also 
in a whisper, and goes behind the leader who bears 
the name of the fruit she has chosen. When the 
choice is made the line again approaches singing, and 
question and answer are repeated until all have 
chosen. Each child then puts her arms around the 
waist of the child in front of her and the two lines 
pull, as in tug-of-war, until the clasped hands of the 
leaders separate and the children are breathless with 
laughter. 

Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow 

This is a very old game, and is especially popular 
among the children who live in the country and to 
whom grain is something more than a mere name. 
Two children join hands and dance around and 
around, singing: 

''You, nor I, nor nobody knows 
How oats, peas, beans or barley grows." 

Imitating with the right hand the motion of sowing 
seed they sing: 

"Thus the farmer sows his seed," 
(then, standing at ease), 

"Thus he stands and takes his ease; 
Stamps his foot and claps his hand," 



AND PARTIES 57 

(suiting the action to the word), 

"And round he goes to view his land." 

(twirling rapidly around), 

"Waiting for a partner, waiting for a partner. 
Open the ring and take one in, 
And kiss her when you get her in." 

Each chooses a child from the company, and then 
all sing the first verse again, repeating the lines until 
all have been chosen. 
Another old favorite is : 

I Sent a Letter to Mj Lore 

The children form a ring, leaving out one to send 
the letter. She folds a pocket-handkerchief in oblong 
shape to suggest an envelope and walks around the 
inside of the ring, singing: 

"1 sent a letter to my love; 
I lost it, I found it." 

(holding it first behind and then before her), 
"I sent a letter to my love; 
Oh, what is this around it ? " 

She looks doubtfully at the packet in her hand, 
then around the circle, and sings: 

"Who will take my letter, my letter, my letter, 
Who will take my letter to my love from me?" 

Having chosen a boy she approaches him, singing: 
"You will take my letter to my love from me." 

At the same moment she drops the handkerchief at 
his feet, and springs across to the other side of the 
ring: the child who received the handkerchief runs 
and breaks through the ring after her. If he can 
tap her with the handkerchief before she gets back 
to his place, she must send the letter again; if not 
the new holder sends it, and so on until all have 
had it. 



58 PARLOR GAMES 

Hunt the Squirrel 

The children stand in line, the squirrel at one end, 
the hunter at the other; all sing: 

''Father, hunt the squirrel, the squirrel, the squirrel. 
Father, hunt the squirrel round the hickory tree; 
Up the hickory, down the hickory, round the hickory 
tree. ' ' 

The squirrel sings: 
''Father, hunt the squirrel, the squirrel, the squirrel. 
If you'd catch the squirrel you must climb the tree.** 

As he finishes he runs up the line behind the chil- 
dren; the hunter^ starting from his place, runs down 
the line in front of the children, hoping by his su- 
perior speed to be able to overtake the squirrel. If 
he cannot do this after he has followed him around 
the line twice he may double back, the squirrel, of 
course, being allowed to double also, until he catches 
him. They then take their places in the middle of 
the line, the child at the head becoming the hunter 
and at the foot the squirrel, until all have been one 
or the other. 

Post Town 

This is an interesting game for children of nine 
or ten who know something of geography and are 
familiar with the names of places. One is chosen 
postmaster. Each child takes the name of any town 
she prefers. If there are too many for the post- 
master to remember he writes down the names and 
holds the list in his hand. He then calls out, ^'I 
am going to send a letter from Richmond to Boston, ' ' 
for instance; the children hearing the names of the 
towns mentioned exchange seats. If they fail to do 
so the one who does not respond pays a forfeit. 

When he cries, *^ General post!" all change places; 
if any does not secure a seat she must pay a forfeit, 
to be redeemed when the game is over. 

Elizabeth Robinson Scovil. 



GAMES FOR LITTLE GIELS 

The Game of French Coiffeur 

A COMPANY of girls twelve and fom-teen years 
old spent a merry evening playing ^'French 
Coiffeur," which created much fun. To play 
it some preparation was needed. A corner of a pil- 
low-case was first stuffed with cotton and rags until 
it was as round and as much like a head as possible. 
Then one side was flattened, and a face made on it 
with colored chalk. This head was fastened to the 
corner of a sofa-pillow and set up in a chair. Bunches 
of raffia in shades of straw, tan, brown and red were 
tied up separately, and there was a bunch for every 
player. 

On beginning the game the raffia was piled up on 
the table, and each girl selected a bunch, making 
of it some hair formation : a bang, frizzes, knot for 
the back of the head, a parted piece or any other 
thing of this kind that she was ingenious enough to 
construct. This finished, a long pin was stuck into 
it. Properly blindfolded, each girl was then guided 
to the head, reached out and pinned her hair piece to 
the first spot on the head that she touched, trying to 
locate it in the proper position. Not only the absurd 
places in which the hair was pinned, but also the 
strange combination of colors, proved most laughable. 
A prize was given for the one that was most nearly 
in place. 

This will be recognized as an adaptation of the 
' ' Pinning the tail on the donkey ' ' game. 
59 



60 PARLOR GAMES 

How Will You Make Your Bed? 

The players sat on the floor in a horseshoe group. 
The leader was at one prong of the shoe, and it was 
her duty to ask each person in turn the question, 
^^HJow do you make your bed*?'* The girl opposite 
the leader began. The floor was, of course, well 
cleared, and at the end of the room toward which 
the horseshoe pointed, a box stood on a table. There 
was a distance of several feet between the players 
and the box. As each player sat down she was given 
a letter of the alphabet, until the entire twenty-six 
had been taken. 

Should there be fewer girls than twenty-six give 
out the following letters in preference to using the 
whole alphabet: b, c, d, e, f, g, h, 1, m, n, p, q, s, 
t, w. These are the first letters of the most common 
words that might be used to describe how a bed might 
be made. They stand for such words as sheets, pil- 
lows, mattresses, cases, blankets, quilts, comforters, 
down, wool, satin, silk, sateen, linen, cotton, soft, 
hard, smooth, wrinkled^ broad, long, narrow, thick 
and firm. The answers sounded like this: *^With 
sheets! With pillows!'^ or ^^Of silk!'* or merely 
'^Soft!'* and the like. 

From a box of anagrams each player was supplied 
with all the cardboard duplicates of her letter. When- 
ever an answer was given whose descriptive word 
began with a letter owned by some one in the group, 
that person jumped up and ran and deposited a 
letter in the box. If the answer chanced to be **My 
bed is hard ! ' ' the one who held ^ ' H * ' was the one to 
run. Before she got back to her seat the person 
whose answer sent her to the box had to tell one 
new fact about beds or drop out of the game. The 
box being close by and speedily reached, the one who 
answered had to think quickly. 

As the game progressed new facts became harder 



AND PARTIES 61 

and harder to find, and so the horseshoe became 
steadily smaller through failure. If the last two are 
very bright thinkers the situation becomes decidedly 
interesting. 

Go Find Your Fortune 

Before beginning this game seven daisy petals 
were cut out of red or yellow paper and hidden 
' about the room. Each was large enough to contain 
a ** fortune/' written on it in short sentences. 

Besides disclosing fates the chief aim of the game 
was to find a ** recipe for good living" that would 
be beneficial to all. This proved a balm to those who 
were not so lucky as to find one of the seven fortunes. 
Each petal was numbered and on each was written 
in order the following prophesies: (1) Beauty is 
her dower; (2) Gold in plenty; (3) Admired by 
all; (4) Youthful in old age; (5) Will win laurels; 
(6) Best of luck; (7) Honor to her name. Placing 
the petals in a column on the table, after they were 
found, the first letter of each fortune stood for the 
first letter in one of the seven words in the recipe. 
This was the familiar maxim: ^^Be good and you 
will be happy, '* an old rule for the best kind of 
living. Whether this was guessed from the letters 
or not, a long strip of paper was pinned on the wall 
at the close of the game on which the quotation had 
been pasted in gilt letters. 

The Picture Postal-Card Game 

At a recent party a pleasant game was played 
with picture postal-cards. About twenty-five showing 
fairly familiar scenes and buildings were chosen, 
made into a pack and laid in the center of the table 
around which the players sat. On each the descrip- 
tive titles were carefully covered with India ink, and 
the pack was placed face downward. Each player in 
order turned up a card and tried to guess what it rep- 



62 PARLOR GAMES 

resented. If she could not identify it the card went 
the rounds. Players held all cards that they guessed. 
It was found best to discard the ones unrecognized, 
and the hostess explained them at the end of the 
game. 

A pretty prize for the winner was a picturesque 
foreign card framed in black. The view was well 
chosen and had the charming effect of a water-color 
sketch. A ten-cent frame was bought with a cheap 
picture in it. The latter was removed and the postal- 
card was put in its place. 

Cuckoo 

'* Cuckoo'' is the game of '^Hide-and-Seek*' with- 
out any running. Before the one selected to be Cuckoo 
conceals herself the other children seat themselves in 
one comer of the room, their faces to the wall and 
eyes tightly shut. Then the Cuckoo hides in that 
room or the next, and when ready calls, ^* Cuckoo, 
Cuckoo!'' The others try to guess her hiding place 
from the sound of her voice, so she has to keep up 
her cry at intervals to guide them in their guessing. 
The one who at last names the place of concealment 
becomes Cuckoo. Grace Campbell Moore. 



AN OLD-TIME CANDY-PULL 

I WANT to tell you how a score of young people 
spent a very pleasant evening. Others searching 
for something new, yet old, may gain as much 
pleasure from it as we did. 

Fortunately, I teach in the neighborhood of my 
home and so can live at home. My sister and I 
wished to give our friends a pleasant evening, and 
so decided to extend invitations to an old-fashioned 
candy-pull. Y\e have a large, roomy kitchen well 
adapted to just such a gathering. Mother was called 
into consultation, and, as three heads are certainly, 
at times, better than one, we made our plans then and 
there, and the invitations were written in this wise and 
sent by messenger : 

Ye are asked to Ye Old-Fashioned Candy-Pull at ye 

home of , at eight of ye clock, on ye Saturday eve, 

ye ninteenth of April. 

Ye maids wear ye gingham aprons, and ye men bring 
ye bibs, and come prepared to labor at ye work, decor- 
ously and conscientiously. 

These were written on sheets of plain linen paper, 
folded, sealed, without envelopes, all reaching their 
destinations safely. Ten couples were invited, and 
nine accepted. A stock of sugar, molasses, nuts, 
flavorings, etc., was laid in. Recipes for old-fash- 
ioned candies were chosen with much care and written 
out, each on a separate slip, and each was numbered 
from one to nine, as follows: (1) Molasses Taffy, 
(2) Peppermint Creams, (3) Butter Scotch, (4) Pea- 
63 



64 PAELOR GAMES 

nut Taffy, (5) Wintergreen Drops, (6) Lemon Taffy, 
(7) Popcorn Balls, (8) Cream Taffy, (9) Walnut 
Taffy. 

These were made in the order in which they were 
numbered, and there was a reason for so numbering. 

From sad experience we learned that those who 
made molasses taffy must needs utilize every moment 
of their time. The unfortunate couple to whose lot 
fell the making of this especial taffy alternately 
stirred their candy, mopped their brows, and mut- 
tered things strange and weird under their breath, 
and yet, in spite of all their efforts, when they left 
for home the candy had not sufficiently boiled. This 
little experience taught us a lesson from which others 
may be glad to profit. 

Had we started the boiling of the molasses before 
the guests arrived the candy would, in all probability, 
have been successfully finished. Then, too, this ar- 
rangement gives those who have nuts to shell or com 
to pop time to do it while the first couples are busy 
with their candies. 

Baby ribbons of nine colors had previously been 
selected, and two tiny bows of each color were made. 
The bows were divided and put into two dishes, one 
of every color in each dish. Upstairs, as the girls 
laid aside their wraps, they were requested to choose 
a bow and to pin it on. Downstairs the gentlemen 
were asked to do the same, and, when all had arrived, 
each was to search for the young woman who wore 
his color. Thus partners were formed for the candy- 
pulling. The young women were each in turn asked 
to choose a slip, the number on it deciding the kind 
of candy she and her partner were to prepare as well 
as the order in which they were to make it, as not 
more than three couples could gather around the 
range at the same time. If one has a good gas stove 
that, also, may be utilized along with the range, and 
considerable time may be saved. 



AND PARTIES 65 

Recipes, stewpans and cooking materials were 
found, placed conveniently on a large table in the 
center of the kitchen. Each appropriate receptacle 
and spoon bore a number to correspond with a recipe. 
Some succeeded in making delicious candy, and some 
didn't, but all thoroughly enjoyed the fun and the 
novelty of the situation. Young women with their 
dainty white gowns nearly enveloped in huge kitchen 
aprons, and young men with bibs fastened around 
their necks bent flushed faces over the glowing coals, 
and watched anxiously for their candy to boil. When 
it finally reached the proper consistency with what 
an air of triumph was the kettle lifted off ! And then 
came the pulling. Sticky? Oh, yes, but, oh, wasn't 
it sweet? 

Late in the evening the calidy was declared finished, 
and arrangements were made for a lively dance. A 
*' fiddler" had been engaged to come in at about half- 
past ten o'clock to furnish old-fashioned music for 
a kitchen frolic, and I am sure no country lads and 
lassies of a hundred years ago went through the 
"Virginia Reel" and the old-fashioned square dances 
with more zest than the twentieth-century boys and 
girls did that night. 

At half-past eleven the music stopped, and the 
warm and weary couples were led to the dining-room, 
where they were served with old-fashioned molasses 
gingerbread, sugar cookies, fruit (pears, apples and 
grapes) and sweet cider. 

At midnight the young people departed, each and 
all declaring that it was an evening they should recall 
with pleasure for many a long day. 

Frances Velma French. 



A CLEVER SIJRPRISE PARTY 

WHEN Margaret told us of her plans for a trip 
to Mexico we had a consultation, and decided 
to ask several of her friends to meet her at 
our home as a surprise, and also planned some small 
gifts which would be a pleasure to her on her jour- 
ney: a cushion containing pins of all sizes, a small 
tumbler heavy enough not to be broken in her satchel, 
a washcloth and an oilskin case for it, a cake of soap, 
a postal-card case made of two pieces of cardboard 
covered with dark linen containing a pencil and sev- 
eral cards, a small box of preserved ginger, etc. Each 
article was daintily wrapped and marked with the 
name of one of the guests. The girls, all unsuspect- 
ing, came to the party, and the packages were dis- 
tributed. Margaret was asked to open hers first; then 
Grace was told she might open the one with her name 
on, and to her great surprise she found beneath the 
first paper another wrapping of paper and ribbon 
and the words, ''Margaret, from Grace'' — so she was 
obliged to pass it on to Margaret, who was, of course, 
surprised to receive a second package. Thus each 
guest found herself provided with a gift for the guest 
of honor. Helen Crane. 



66 



GAIVIES FOR THE KIDDIES 

Poppies in the Wheat 

THE *^ Poppies*' kneel or sit on the grass in 
a large circle, with space enough between them 
for a child to pass through. This is what the 
'^Stalks'' dO; at the same time repeating some verses 
that tell how the poppies and wheat grow together. 
The ^^Wheaf begins, chanting: 

Drowsy little Poppies, nodding in the wheat, 
Dream you aU the summer there is naught to do but 
sleep? 

This does not rouse the *' Poppies,'' however, and 
they continue to nod drowsily. 

Every one at hand can hear the wind blowing, for 
the ''Wheat Stalks" immediately begin to make all 
sorts of whistling noises with their lips. When the 
''Poppies" hear these they shrink and shiver, but 
sleep on. Then the "Wheat" comments wamingly: 

Hear the autumn wind blow, buffeting the Wheat! 
Shivering in slumber, shrink the Poppies at its feet. 
Across the field a sound comes, click the knives of steel 1 
Hurry, little Poppies, or their sting you '11 feel ! 

(Loudly calling and shaking the "Poppies") : 

Waken, Poppies, wake and flee. 
The field is ripe to cut! 

The moment the last word has passed their lips 

the "Stalks of Wheat" begin to count twelve as 

rapidly as possible, at the same time stepping back 

so as to form a second circle outside the circle of 

67 



es PARLOR GAMES 

kneeling '^ Poppies/^ The '* Poppies'' have mean- 
time sprung up, for they must each run across the 
ring and pass out between two of the ' * Wheat Stalks ' ' 
directly opposite them before the end of the count 
has been reached. The '* Stalks'' will try to catch 
them, but may not endeavor to do so until after they 
have counted twelve. Each child may hasten that 
process as much as possible, and begin to catch as 
soon as done. They do not, however, interfere with 
any ** Poppies" but those that pass between them- 
selves and another ^* Stalk." 

If the circle is a very large one it may be necessary 
to count to fifteen or twenty, in order to give the 
"Poppies" a fair chance to run across. When the 
players have been reduced to two or three ** Pop- 
pies" the game may be considered at an end. 

The Game of DanJIcIian 

"Dandelion" has two chasers and but one person 
to be caught. 

Two volunteers face one another, clasping hands 
and lifting their arms high for the others to pass un- 
der. As they do this they ask, "Oh, who has seen a 
dandelion this fine May morning?" and immediately 
answer themselves, "Oh, we have found a dandelion 
this morning fine in May." Speaking the last word 
they drop their arms over the child beneath, who is 
thus made "Dandelion." 

He at once takes his position in the middle of the 
field and the others crowd close about him in a shoul- 
der-to-shoulder group. Suddenly "Dandelion" ex- 
claims : 

I must away; 
I cannot stay; 
To seed I go! 

And with that he reaches out his arms and pushes 
the crowd away. Every one else does likewise, each 



AND PARTIES 60 

standing still where the push has left him. In this 
way the * ^ Dandelion ' ' stands surrounded as if by a 
radiation of seeds, and ^ ' Seeds *^ is the name given 
to the other players. No sooner is the shoving over 
than the chasers, who are the two volunteers, utter 
.these words : 

Do it, 

But you'll rue it, 

For we'll blow, blow, blow. 

And they do blow three times, just as if they were 
questioning dandelion clocks by blowing away the 
seeds from a ^'gone-by*' blossom. 

At the last puff of breath * ' Dandelion ' ^ darts away 
with his pursuers hard after. Where the '* Dande- 
lion '* has the advantage is in his privilege of being 
considered *'safe'' every time he chooses to take a 
position behind one of the '^ Seeds. '* Whenever this 
occurs he calls ^'Safe!" and the chasers are obliged 
to stop short wherever they happen to be, so that 
when the ^ ^ Dandelion ' ' starts out again the pursuit 
can be taken up where it was left. The game ends 
when the ^ ^ Dandelion ^ ' is captured. 

A Battle Between Winter and Spring 

For this game the children take sides according to 
the seasons and each side tries to overthrow the other 
by striking a child in the one vulnerable point about 
him. Balls of cotton covered with crepe paper are 
the weapons used. 

Twelve small breast-shields must be made and 
trimmed in sets of six. These shields are the vulner- 
able points on each player, and at them the balls are 
aimed. Each child should have a dozen of the latter, 
and standing ten feet away from and facing each 
other, child to child, the sides begin pommeling one 
another. No harm can possibly be done by the blows, 
for the balls are soft. As soon as a child is struck 



70 PARLOR GAMES 

on the shield he drops out of line. If there are re- 
freshments the losing side waits upon the winners. 

Fireflies 

All but the catcher are ^ ^ Fireflies ' ' in this game. 
These choose positions about the playground, select- 
ing a post, window, etc. As all running in the game 
is from the first goal to a smaller one, therefore 
neither posts nor windows should be too many nor 
too near together, or the catcher will have no chance 
to take any player prisoner. 

Just as real fireflies open and close their wings so 
the player ^' Fireflies^' constantly close their hands 
over their bright eyes and open them out again as 
they stand on their goals. Among them the catcher 
moves about, trying to tap some one while his hands 
are open. Should the blow happen to fall while the 
hands are closed, then the catcher is chased by all the 
others, each one of whom cuffs him lightly when 
caught, in punishment for his clumsiness. 

When the tap is rightly given the child struck runs 
for a goal like his own. If he reaches it he is safe, 
but if he does not he becomes catcher himself. It 
will hardly happen that the catcher is so unfortunate 
as not to secure any one. Yet, if this is so, he has the 
right, after reasonable effort, to call out * ' Fireflies ! ' * 
Then every player must seek a new goal, and in this 
general change some one is sure to be captured. 

Grace Campbell Moore. 

Bedside Botany 

All winter we had been at our wits' end to devise 
amusement for the little niece whose fall and injury 
to her knee had made her a prisoner on her lounge 
for many weary months. Now, with the spring at 
hand, and all the Nature world calling her to come 
out and play, it seemed as though the active little 



AND PARTIES 71 

body could no longer be restrained; and we began a 
despairing search for the occupation that would keep 
her quiet and happy a little while longer until the 
lame knee had grown strong again. One afternoon 
I found at the village store just the idea I had been 
seeking; and armed with a book and a paiut-box I 
hurried back to make the child glad with a new play. 
On my way through the orchard I stooped and picked 
the first frail, shy blossom of the rue anemone, that 
had pricked its way through the greening grass; the 
little flower had a part of its own in the play. 

I showed the book to my niece. On each page was 
drawn in outline the picture of a different wild 
flower; and together we turned the pages till we 
found the rue anemone. Then I drew a table to the 
side of the couch, opened the paint-box, and showed 
the eager little girl how to touch the petals of the 
blossoms with the faintest pink, like the flower she 
. held, and to mix the yellow and blue for its leaves. 
"When the copy looked as much like the original as 
we could make it she wrote in the comer of the page : 
* ' Found by Aunt Mary in the orchard, May 1, 1904. ' ^ 

This was just the beginning of the '^Bedside 
Botany";- for as spring grew more lavish with its 
blossoms, and the child's friends heard of the new 
play, not a day passed without a fresh flower being 
brought to have its picture taken; Quaker ladies, 
arbutus, sheep's laurel, jacks-in-the-pulpit, cowslips, 
ragged robins, mallow, St. John's wort, and many 
more; the date being written each time in the corner 
of the page when the painting was finished. 

Legends of flowers, and stories about their habits, 
were learned as a part of the play; and by the time 
the child was well enough to walk and run, and pick 
flowers for herself, the little book, with the study and 
pleasure it represented, had become a cherished part 
of childhood experiences. 

Mary Augusta Rand. 



RAINY-DAY FUN 

Cake Shop 

^^T 'LL be Buyer! Let me be Buyer'/' somebody 
X. calls out as soon as *'Cake Shop'' is pro- 
posed, for this is the one distinctive title in the 
game, and every one likes the part. 

The one to whom it falls goes out of the room and 
closes the door behind her, while the others all choose 
some kind of cake to represent. One will be ' ' fruit, ' ' 
another ^'sponge," and a third ^'chocolate," per- 
haps, but all different. These are the Cakes in the 
Cake Shop, and when all are arranged in a circle 
the Buyer is called in, and a certain part of the room 
set aside as the cake box. 

Then, quite unaware who will respond to her call, 
the Buyer names a cake she wants. If she should 
call the name of one not taken by a player no one 
will respond and she must try again. Whenever she 
calls a cake that is represented the player that has 
chosen it dashes out of the line and runs for the cake 
box. If she reaches it she remains in that safe space 
until she thinks she can run back to the circle and not 
be captured. If, on the contrary, she is caught by 
the Buyer, she merely stands at one side until a new 
game is formed. Although the Buyer endeavors to 
catch each Cake as she runs to the cake box, she tries 
even harder to catch each one as she runs back to the 
circle, for it is the first Cake caught on the way back 
that takes the original Buyer's place. Then the circle 
is formed again and a fresh game begun. 
72 



AND PARTIES 73 

The Picture-Frame 

Four children mark out the '* Picture-Frame ' ' by 
standing at the four corners of an oblong space; a 
fifth child makes the picture, while the others declare 
.what it shall be and sit about to view it, doing their 
best to make the child in the frame laugh. The one 
who is making the picture stays in the frame until 
this happens, when the player whose suggestions has 
trapped her takes her place. Every time another 
child steps into the frame the four children compos- 
ing it are changed. 

Of course, the pictures posed will be of simple 
childish subjects that are easily expressed in panto- 
mime. * ^ A crying baby, " "sl lame duck, *' '*a, proud 
lady'' are such caricatures as the auditors will be 
likely to demand. Any child would feel equal to 
representing all of them, but would be liable at any 
time to become self-conscious and laugh. 

Four Touches 

She who moves swiftest comes off best in a ''Four 
Touches" contest, for it is a finger duel between two 
children, to see which can soonest finish touching the 
other on chin, right shoulder, left shoulder and chest 
In reaching toward one another there are likely to 
be collisions of hands. These make the finish more 
uncertain, and when the entanglements last several 
seconds are amusing even to the players. 

Some one having been selected for ''first turn," 
the others form a line and she places herself before 
the first in it, to try conclusions with this one. If 
the leader wins the first time she passes on to the 
next player, and in this way progresses down the line. 
Whenever one of the others wins in a contest she 
becomes leader, and continues from the point where 
the previous leader left off, going to the head when 
she has reached the last one, and then working down 



74 PARLOR GAMES 

to the player she commenced with should she have 
good fortune. Rarely, however, can a leader go the 
length of the line without being vanquished, but when 
this happens she at once runs off and is chased by 
the others until captured. Whoever takes her pris- 
oner then becomes leader. 

An Elephant Party 

At Little Jim's party his small guests had a good 
time playing games both in and out of the house, 
but all were told to go into the parlor promptly when 
the great clock in the hall struck five. As soon as all 
were in a rear door opened and a tiny elephant en- 
tered, on whose tail hung a card upon which were 
the words, ^^ Follow me.'' Following the elephant 
the children came into the dining-room, and to their 
wonder found in the center of the room a stage on 
which were a number of other elephants moving 
about, and after all the children were seated the 
elephants gave them a delightful entertainment, at 
the end of which each elephant broke in half, and out 
of each half stepped two men who acted as waiters. 
Ice cream and cake were served, while little elephants 
filled with candy were given the children as souvenirs. 

Three Games to Be Playekl Indoors 

The Apple Game. — An apple feat that makes fun 
and is not too easily accomplished consists in walk- 
ing across the room with one on the head. If all the 
children try at once it will be more enjoyable. They 
are likely to run into one another, but will laugh over 
this as much as if they had succeeded with the bal- 
ancing. 

Apples are pretty objects to use in a memory test. 
Six or seven of them are placed about the room in 
plainly visible positions, and the little ones are taken 
in and allowed to look at them for a few minutes. 



AND PARTIES 75 

They are told to see how many apples they can spy, 
and when they get back to the other room try to tell. 
Unless the children are very small the list had best 
be written, perhaps, for few but very tiny tots are 
so utterly guileless as to be able to resist the tempta- 
tion to add to their list lacking apples that have been 
remembered by others. Those who remember all cor- 
rectly might be rewarded with badges of red silk 
ribbon on which an apple, in gilded outlines, has been 
drawn. 

White Eose. — In a wholly natural way ''White 
Rose" creates some delightful postures and groups. 
These are accompanied by some verses about a ' ' white 
rose" and a ''willow tree," and when beginning to 
play, a couple of children are chosen to represent 
these two, preferably a short one and a tall one. 
Near them stand the others in a group or circle, and 
these repeat; 

There stood a white rose by a willow tree, 
And it grew, and grew, and grew. 

Oh, little white rose, will you blossom for me, 

As you stand in the sun by the willow tree? 

Oh, do! Oh, do! Oh, do! 

As the last line of the first couplet is repeated the 
children express the growing of the rose in panto- 
mime by stretching out their arms in front of them 
and slowly spreading them apart, gradually widening 
the distance between the palms. When the words^ 
"Oh, do!" are spoken, those in the line assume all 
sorts of supplicating attitudes. 

Then the White Rose cries: 

I'm spinning my roses and weaving the dew 
Eight now in a sweet little nosegay for you. 

As she says these words she advances and waves 
her hands about, as though making the nosegay, 
selecting meanwhile four of the largest and strongest 
children from the group. All go back to the Willow 



76 PARLOR GAMES 

Tree, where they kneel at the feet of the Rose, to 
form the nosegay. Then the Rose turns to the others 
and says: 

But before you may pluck it you '11 have to break through 
The hedge of my thorns; and, whatever you do, 
Look out for the willow tree. 

Upon this the nosegay springs up to become a 
protecting circle of thorns about the Rose, for the 
rest of the players immediately rush upon them in 
efforts to '^ pluck'' her. The Willow Tree, almost 
immovable up to this time, now throws himself into 
the scramble at the points where danger of breaking 
through the line seems most imm&nent, trying to 
thwart the attempts of these players and to ward oS. 
others who may be coming to their aid. When, at 
last, the Rose is reached, a new game is formed, with 
different children in the center. 

'^ Three Black Crows" is a game that can be 
played either indoors or out in the open. For it there 
must be ready three times as many balls of cotton 
covered with cloth as there are players. A leader 
being chosen, the others form a circle about her and 
she starts the game by crying, '^ Three black crows 
are in the corn. Peck! Peck! Peck!" As she 
utters the last three words she touches three of those 
in the circle, and they step out and back from it, so 
as to be about four feet away. They are the Crows. 
Each one faces so as to be able to run around the 
circle and back to her place, always keeping four feet 
away from the others. When the Crows are in posi- 
tion the leader cries, ^^The farmer shoots them every 
dawn. Crack! Crack! Crack!" At the last 
'^ crack" the Crows begin their race, and the mem- 
bers of the circle, who are all farmers and each of 
whom is armed with three balls, throw these at the 
runners as they pass in an effort to strike them. 
Should they be hit no penalty follows, for the excite- 
ment of the game lies chiefly in the attempt to strike 



AND PARTIES 77 

the Crows. The cries and the expectancy of the 
moment when the start is to be made will cause suffi- 
cient exhilaration and laughter. When the runners 
have reached their places the first one *' peeked'* 
becomes leader; the balls are collected and again dis- 
.tributed for a new round of the fun. 

Grace Campbell Moore. 

Tke Acrobatic Corks 

This is an amusing, new rainy-day game for the 
children, and I guarantee that the grown-up children 
will enjoy it just as much as the little ones, for the 
reason that the corks when perfectly adjusted assume 
the most grotesque positions, hardly ever twice alike, 
and seem endowed with frolicsome life. 

Take half a dozen small corks five-eighths of an 
inch long. (Those longer than three-fourths of an 
inch cannot be used to advantage.) Into the edge of 
the small end of the cork stick two large-headed car- 
pet tacks, and they will look like ^^ Brownie'' legs 
and feet; near the upper edge of the cork stick two 
short brass pins for arms, having them on a line 
with the carpet-tack legs. Into the center of the top 
of each cork stick a large-headed brass upholstery 
tack, letting it project well, for the neck and head. 

Now half fill your bathtub with water; throw in 
the corks, and if your tacks and pins are properly 
placed they will balance perfectly. The current cre- 
ated by the water, which must be kept running in a 
moderate stream, will cause the corks to sail around 
the tub until they arrive under the stream of water, 
and then you will learn why I call them acrobatic 
corks. If the tub is of large size a whole dozen of 
corks will create more sport than half that number. 
If you want the children to have a thoroughly enjoy- 
able rainy-day indoors give them a bathtub with run- 
ning water and a handful of the acrobatic corks. 

Anna Wulf Davis. 



78 PARLOR GAMES 

Tke Game of Bird's Nest 

Make little imitation birds' nests out of straw or 
hay, and in each one place a small favor. Hide the 
nests in the grass or in low bushes and trees near the 
house or in the woods. Have one or two nests for 
each child. Then tell the children that there are 
birds ^ nests hidden all around in the grass, bushes 
and trees, that they must go and look for them, and 
that as soon as they find one they may have the little 
favor within. This is a very amusing game, as all 
small children love so much to hunt for anything, 
either indoors or outdoors. 

Mrs. Frank Cole. 

A Silver Ship Game 

More pleasure will be derived from soap-bubbles 
if the mere blowing is complicated by a requirement, 
and a kind of fairy marine game has been evolved. 
The children repeat, as they blow each bubble and 
start it on its way; 

I send my silver ship (bubble) afloat upon a silver sea 

(air). 
And, if my bonny boat comes back, 'twill bring a gift 

to me. 

The gift is a favor, which can be won only by 
fanning a bubble back to the basin from which it 
was made. Each child has his or her own basin and 
pipe, and these are set on low rests in a circle around 
the room. In the center the hostess sits with a sup- 
ply of tiny favors, such as insects, mice, frogs, etc. 
Besides the pipes the little ones must be pro\dded 
with small, pretty fans and little covered baskets.. 
Standing at one side of the basin each child blows a 
bubble, then gently tries to fan it back. The lucky 
blower receives a favor for the basket. 

Grace Campbell Moore. 



VAEIED AMUSEMENTS 

An Amateur Vaudeville Evening 

MY HUSBAND and I had been invited out to 
so many parties that we wished to entertain 
in return, but were not so well provided with 
means to do so as were our more fortunate friends. 
The party we gave was a great success, nevertheless. 
The invitations were sent out over the telephone, and 
each guest was asked to wear a funny costume, as 
much as possible in the style of the grotesque vaude- 
ville ^* artist, '^ and a dozen special friends were 
asked to '^perform.'' 

We have a small house, with an archway between 
the parlor and the diniag-room. We moved the 
chairs and the divan out on the side lawn and bor- 
rowed two hammocks, which, with our own, helped 
toward seating the guests; most of them, however, 
preferred to sit on rugs or the grass itself. We 
strung up a few Chinese lanterns, but as it was a 
moonlight night they were almost unnecessary. 

The refreshments were lady-fingers and a very good 
temperance punch (lemonade made very strong and 
sweet, with the addition of a little strawberry flavor- 
ing, a can of sliced pineapple, an orange sliced thin, 
and plenty of effen^escent water) ; we also placed a 
big cake of ice in the punch-bowl. The refreshments 
were put on a table on the lawn and the guests helped 
themselves. 

The program consisted of songs, duets, recitations, 
monologues, etc., by the guests. One of our really 
79 



80 PARLOR GAMES 

funny men was induced to announce the performers. 
One trio was announced as ^'the world-renowned 
family, the Signors Piano, Pianissimo and Pianola" 
— a kind neighbor had sent over her pianola and some 
music-rolls, and they helped out wonderfully. The 
performers used one end of the parlor for a stage, 
and most of the audience stood up; in true continu- 
ous-performance fashion, some of the audience stood 
outside on the porch or came and went *' between the 
acts. * ' One of the numbers was a song by the Floro- 
dora sextet. They had been given palmleaf fans with 
the words typewritten on paper and pasted on one 
side, so when memory failed they read their fans, 
and they used them again in the final dance. 

After the performance ended half of the guests 
went home, while the younger ones made themselves 
at home on the lawn or in the parlor, and the pianola 
furnished the dance-music. 

Our party cost about five dollars, and was truly a 
shining success. 

Eleanor Wright Jewett. 

Brushing the Cobweb* from the Moon 

This is fully as difficult a task as it may seem to be. 
It amuses players of all ages. To prepare for the 
game some one must first have cut out of heavy yel- 
low paper, or drawing-paper that has been colored 
yellow, a huge half -moon, and through it innumer- 
able long ends of yam must have been thickly 
threaded with a needle. The moon is then suspended 
to a chandelier with ribbons or tapes. Those who 
*' brush" it enter into a contest to strive to pull out 
the most cobwebs in three minutes, using the left 
band only, and drawing out one at a time. When 
grown persons are playing the prize may most aptly 
be a pot of green cheese. 

Grace Campbell Moore. 



AND PARTIES 81 

Labor-Day Party 

The invitations were written on white paper pasted 
on cardboard cut in the shape of spades, picks and 
other laborer's tools, and read as follows: 

'^You are invited to spend an evening at the home of 
■ Mrs. Blank on the workingman 's holiday, Labor Day. 
Please bring your jeans and ginghams, for this is just 
a friendly gathering, and not a formal affair." 

The members of the party entered into the spirit 
of the thing, and wore onting-elothes. 

Each man was given a card containing the first half 
of an appropriate quotation, and each woman's card 
bore the second half. Below the quotation or senti- 
ment the card had ten numbered spaces. The guests 
were then told that various workmen were scattered 
about the lawn in disguise, and that they were to 
guess at the craft of each, and to write their answers 
on the numbered spaces on their cards. On the trees 
on the lawn there were various small lanterns; these 
lamps lighted certain objects which formed the names 
of trades. For instance, under one lamp stood the 
small son of the house, with an old broomstick 
dressed like a Maypole to represent Mayson (mason). 
A child's toy car with the syllable ^Her" written 
across the top with a pen which was stuck through 
the wood of the car, read *' carpenter. " A piece 
of brick and a picture of a hen read bricklayer. A 
rude pen-picture of a hod and a picture of a messen- 
ger-boy read hod-carrier. Any number of trades may 
be represented in the same way and the pictures may 
be cut from magazines or drawn rudely with a pen. 

At the ringing of a bell the couples started in the 
direction of these little lamps, which were numbered. 
One couple went to lamp number 1, one to lamp 
number 2, etc. Five minutes were allowed to guess 
each riddle, then the bell was rung and the women 
moved from 10 to 9, 9 to. 8, etc., while the men moved 



82 PARLOR GAMES 

from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc., thus changing partners each 
move. The young girls who acted as guides saw to 
it that no communication was held regarding the 
game with any one but one's own partner. When 
the game had been completed prizes were awarded. 

The party were then rowed across the lake to a 
little wooded knoll which was iStted up with a small 
log shelter where our hostess was in the habit of 
spending her afternoons. A camp-fire was burning 
brightly, and each guest was given a long, forked 
stick, and an ear of com to roast. There were also 
rye bread, cheese sandwiches and hot coffee. As we 
all sat about the fire one of the men told ghost stories 
while some of the girls made fudge. After an hour 
or two spent in this delightful spot we were rowed 
back to the house. 

Our hostess bundled her guests into a large farm- 
wagon which drove down the country road, drenched 
in the moonlight, and deposited each one at his or 
her own house. 

A. C. RUGGERI. 
The Lighted Wedding Ring 

A new and very pretty idea for a recent wedding 
anniversary dinner was the lighted wedding ring. It 
was a wooden ring somewhat larger around than a 
large dinner-plate and thick in proportion. It was 
brightly gilded so that it looked exactly like the usual 
gold circlet. 

''The handy man about the house" can easily 
make one. The best way is to make it in two half 
rings and glue the parts together. In the upper edge 
little borings are made for the insertion of tapers. 
The tapers tell the years, as on a birthday cake, 
although for a first anniversary twelve tapers might 
be used, indicating the twelve months. 

Two pieces of wire are secured to the inside of the 
ring by tiny screw-rings, stretched tightly and crossed. 



AND PARTIES 83 

At the exact center these wires are fastened together 
by a long piece of wire, the other end of which is 
attached to the chandelier. The wires do not show, 
as the ring is hung just a little space above the flowers 
in the center of the table. The chandelier is twined 
about with drooping sprays of smilax, one spray 
twining itself accidentally (?) about the center wire, 
effectually concealing it. The ring thus appears sus- 
pended by magic. Ida Bunce Sammis. 

Sentence-Forming Fun 

Each person participating in this game was sup- 
plied with a sheet of paper on which was a list of 
words, ten or twelve in number. Each person then 
wrote a few words before or after each of the ten 
given words, in such a way as to make a sentence. 
For example (the italicized words were the original 
ten) : 

awed by the 

Sultan, whose appearance was 

unusual, the people 

dwindle to the 

thatehed and lowly 

huts, where 

spices and gold 

inset with jewels, as well as 

politeness, were unknown to the 

crawling people. 

The idea was to make as much sense as possible out 
of the given words, and this is sometimes hard to do, 
as there is often no connection between them. It is 
a good idea to have a spelling-book at hand when 
preparing the list, otherwise there may be a tendency 
to choose words which belong together, making it too 
easy to make a sentence, and thus spoiling the fun in 
the game. 

After all had finished writing the sentences were 
read aloud and compared, and the person who wrote 



84 PARLOR GAMES 

the best sentence was presented with a book. The 
booby prize was a small grammar. 

MiNCHElsr RUSACK. 

A Recipe Party 

At a gathering of women of different ages and 
tastes this form of entertainment proved interesting. 
Each guest was requested to bring her favorite recipe. 
The result was a queer collection, from cosmetics to 
the daintiest of desserts. Then each in turn read her 
recipe, not giving its name, while the others wrote 
upon cards furnished them the name they thought 
should belong to the recipe. As the recipes were read 
they were copied in a dainty booklet, given as a prize 
to the one who guessed correctly the largest number 
of names. 

Each lady's copy of her recipe was then cut into 
halves and shuffled with other halves. Two halves — 
of different recipes — ^were returned to each of the con- 
testants, the hostess asking that they make original 
recipes from the ingTedients called for on the odd 
halves. She remarked that all of the ingredients 
named need not be used, but that no additional ones 
would be allowed. 

In another test of originality the hostess had some 
lists prepared of such things as the housewife occa- 
sionally finds in her larder when the marketing has 
been neglected. One list was given to each guest. 
She was told to imagine herself in the following em- 
barrassing situation : unexpected company has arrived 
and luncheon must be served; no market or grocery 
is accessible ; the luncheon must be prepared from the 
supplies which are in the house, namely, the things 
mentioned in the list. The privilege was allowed to 
all of using flour and seasonings and of adding a 
beverage. 

One woman ^3 list was as follows: '^Some cold 



AND PARTIES 85 

roast beef, a dry loaf of bread, a box of salt wafers, 
butter, cream, salad dressing, one banana, head of cab- 
bage, some cucumber pickles and a little left-over 
peach pickle/' 

She arranged the following: ^^ Whipped a pint of 
the cream and stirred into it the one banana mashed 
to a pulp, addiag a little sugar, and one teaspoonful 
of gelatine dissolved in as little water as was possi- 
ble. I set it on the ice to stiffen. The meat I 
chopped, seasoned highly and mixed with cream sauce; 
then I put it into toast shells, made from very thick 
slices of the bread with the centers scooped out. The 
cabbage and the cucumbers and peach pickles I 
chopped fine and mixed with the dressing, making a 
delicious salad.'' E. D. Innis. 



HALLOWEEN FIJN 

Fortune's Wheel 

AT A MERRY Halloween party the game of 
Fortune's Wheel was played. The guests were 
formed into a circle sitting two feet apart. An 
eighteen-inch hoop, with gay ribbon spokes and a 
bunch of violets and sleigh-bells for the hub, was 
started by one of the players, the one sitting next 
giving it a push and sending it on to his neighbor, 
and thus around the circle. The wheel should not 
roll fast, and as it goes around all should chant; 

''Fortune's wheel — oh, speed along j 
As we sing this mystic song, 
Give happiness, fame, power and wealth, 
True love, long life, good friends and health, 
Success in business, music, art. 
And — ^best of all — a merry heart." 

If a player fails to touch the wheel as it passes, 
or sends it into the middle of the ring instead of 
sending it to his neighbor, or if the wheel falls at his 
feet, his fortune is deferred for that year, and he 
leaves the ring. The game keeps on until one player 
remains who will be given all the gifts in the power 
of the fickle goddess to bestow. If the players are 
at all skillful the wheel can be kept rolling for some 
time. Marie Eulalie Moran. 

Jolly Forest Halloween 

A girl who lives in the suburbs invited her city 
friends out to a Halloween frolic in an imitation 
86 



AND PARTIES 87 

forest. The furniture, pictures and bric-a-brac were 
removed from the rooms. The floors were strewn 
with leaves, and branches of autumn leaves decorated 
the walls, doors and windows. Boughs of brilliant 
oak screened the upper part of the sideboard and 
ferns and vines the lower. Fern leaves covered the 
marble shelf, and on it were straw trays of apples. 
Jack-o'-lanterns lighted the rooms — pumpkins of all 
shapes and hues carved into grotesque faces of vary- 
ing expressions, and lined with red and green tissue- 
paper, a little glow-lamp burning inside each lan- 
tern. 

When supper was announced the guests were sur- 
prised on enteriug the dining-room to be invited to 
the pumpkin patch — a row of little pumpkins in a 
comer. Closer inspection showed a pumpkin marked 
by a tag for each guest. When seated around the 
log fire they found that each pumpkin contained a 
picnic luncheon wrapped in waxed paper and also a 
paper napkin printed with autumn leaves. Bright 
new tin-cups were passed and coffee was served from 
the big tin pot on the hearth. Then apples were 
roasted and corn popped. 

Later in the evening the ^'Nut-witch'* held court 
in a leafy bower and distributed nut fortunes to the 
curious. This witch was dressed in orange and brown, 
and had a brown splint basket filled with nuts of dif- 
ferent varieties, each containing a fortune or prophecy 
written on a bit of paper. The ''Nut-witch'' also 
read the palms of those who wished to peer more 
deeply into the mysteries of Fate. 

A Halloween Housewarming 

A young couple gave a Halloween housewarming 
to their friends. Pumpkin Jack-o'-lanterns with 
staring eyes and wide-open mouths lighted the way 
from the road to the house and hung in the bushes in 
the garden. 



88 PARLOR GAMES 

To give full scope for the Hlalloween rites the 
parlor and dining-room furniture had not yet been 
moved into the house. There were plain kitchen 
wooden chairs and a table of planks instead. Shaded 
lights peeped out from autumn vines and leaves, 
bunches of leaves, chrysanthemums and berries 
drooped over the mirrors and pictures, while leaves, 
cornstalks and boughs hid the corners of the rooms. 
A gipsy kettle held cool fruit punch, tin dippers be- 
ing tied to the poles. A pine tree was thickly hung 
with bright red apples. From this tree the guests 
gathered the apples for the Halloween games. 

Supper was served on the wooden table decorated 
with autumn flowers and leaves. At each wooden 
plate there was a paper napkin in a carrot ring. 
Oysters were served from pumpkin shells, the chicken 
salad was in individual cases of hollowed-out turnips, 
while purple cabbage bowls held pickles and crackers, 
and squash boats the bread-and-butter sandwiches. 
The ice cream was tinted orange and frozen in melon 
moulds, making very presentable pumpkins, and it 
was but the work of a few minutes to add the eyes 
and nose of candied cherries and the citron teeth just 
before serving. A fortune cake, containing a thim- 
ble, a ring and a dime, was brought on with the 
cream, the cake being iced, and fancifully decorated 
with nuts and candied fruits. 

The Spinning WKeel 

A Wheel of Fortune will furnish much fun at a 
Halloween gathering. Cut a large pasteboard disk 
and paint it to represent a wheel. Fasten with a nail 
on a large wooden board to turn easily. Draw a cir- 
cle outside the wheel and paint numbers around it. 
This wheel is presided over by a gipsy or witch in 
costume. She has a large, rustic basket filled with 
fancy envelopes, each numbered and containing a for- 
tune in verse. The guests in turn give the wheel a 



AND PARTIES 89 

spin, and receive from the presiding genius an en- 
velope with the number corresponding to the one be- 
fore whom the wheel stopped. 

A Halloween Weight Test 

A special room is set apart for the weighing- 
machine, which may be borrowed for the occasion. 
This room should be decorated appropriately, con- 
taining a sufficient number of pumpkin lanterns 
hanging over the machine to enable the guests to 
ascertain their respective weights. 

The guest whose weight is determined by three even 
numbers may look for a life of good fortune; three 
odd numbers are unlucky. The highest even number 
means wealth; the one whose number represents any 
multiple of five will win health. A number contain- 
ing a figure 2 and a cipher in conjunction signifies 
a journey; the number 4 proves you are a favorite, 
while the appearance of number 8 brings three im- 
mediate pleasant surprises. Two odd numbers in con- 
junction with a cipher signifies the failure of a pet 
scheme; the number 9 appearing in the sum total of 
pounds means a coming letter. A 6 means an invita- 
tion within two weeks from a man friend. The num- 
ber 3 denotes a gift. 

A preponderance of ciphers signifies fruitiest 
quests. Thirteen added to a cipher brings keen dis- 
appointment in one's dearest wish. The number 7 
brings continued happiness, and if one weighs one 
hundred and seventy-seven pounds he must neee«- 
sarily become a humorist. 

Mary Estes. 

A Mystic Halloween Party 

A number of college girls, famed in their univer- 
sity town for their originality, provided from ' ' some- 
thing old" that ^'something new" which is forever 
in demand. 



90 PARLOR GAMES 

Each man who accepted the invitation to the ^ ^ Mys- 
tic Party '^ was given on his arrival a padlock fash- 
ioned from cardboard on which was lightly sketched 
a lock, and beneath the lock these lines were written : 
''Here's the padlock; find the key, 
And learn what Fate's prepared for thee." 

Obedient to the rhymed instructions, the owner 
searched for the girl whose cardboard key fitted his 
lock. 

When all had found their keys the fun began, for 
beneath that cardboard cover were sheets of paper 
containing instructions for the evening — and on each 
page each man found a girPs name. When a bell 
was struck he took the girl the first page called for 
and followed instructions; then the others in turn, 
and so on to the end. Following are samples of the 
instructions : 

Page I 

Take Miss Smith out to the spring 

Which eternal youth will bring; 

Tonight the fairy in her bower 

Gives the drink of magic power. 

Page II 
Go take Miss Leslie to the cave 
Where dwells the wizard wise and grave; 
His telescope's far-reaching eye 
Will read your fortune in the sky. 

Page III 
With Miss Black, but not alone, 
Go to the Sibyl's mystic home; 
Past and future she can see 
In her magic cup of tea. 

Page IV 
Take Miss White into the bower, 
Where Ophelia, with a flower 
Opening wide Fate's golden door. 
Tells what Cupid has in store. 



AND PARTIES 91 

Page V 
Take Miss Green, and well defend her 
From the wicked Witch of Endor, 
Who for love, and not for gold, 
Will thy future fate unfold. 

Page VI 
Awful, last and best of all, 
Take Miss Canby to the ball, 

"Mystic Chamber" named j 
Let twenty enter at the door, 
Clap your hands three times or more, 

Wait the answer strange. 

Page VII 
When it's twelve by the clock 
Turn the latch-key in the lock; 
Take the sweetest girl you know, 
Say "good-night," and home you go. 

The first, the "Spring of Perpetual Youth,*' was a 
large crock surrounded with moss, in a moss-covered 
well-sweep. From this spring two little girls dressed 
as fairies served fruit punch. 

The next was "A Famous Astrologer'' in a booth 
like a hermit's den. He was dressed in a flowing 
robe and wore a false wig and whiskers. About him 
were charts and diagrams and a telescope, by means 
of which he told fortunes. For a light, alcohol 
poured over salt was used; for a telescope, a field 
glass. He began by asking each one his or her age. 

The "Sibyl of Terefia" told fortunes with tea- 
grounds. She was dressed in a fantastic flowing robe. 

*' Ophelia" told fortunes in a white tent covered 
with autumn leaves. On her arm hung a basket of 
flowers from which the visitor must make a choice; 
then she repeated the verse applicable to each one. 

The "Witch of Endor" told fortunes by means of 
cards. Her booth was red and black arranged in 
gipsy fashion. She was a real gipsy. 



92 PARLOR GAMES 

The *^ Mystic Chamber'' came last. This was the 
dining-room. The guests, according to the rules, 
'* clapped their hands three times, no more,'' and 
two boys appeared, dressed as Oriental slaves in black 
bloomers with yellow turbans and sashes; they served 
the refreshments, which consisted of ice cream and 
cake. Every one sat Oriental fashion on cushions 
on the floor, which was covered with a great rug. The 
center was an artificial pond — a tub completely sur- 
rounded by plants and moss. 

The electric lights were covered with red tissue- 
paper and the newel-post in the hall masqueraded 
as a tall and sheeted ghost. 

Elizabeth Burroughs. 

Fortune Hunting 

From a sheet of black paper cut a large figure of 
a witch, with a cat just in front of her, mounted on 
a broomstick. Have this figure pinned to the center 
of a sheet, which is to hang at one end of the room. 
Have written on slips of paper (as many as there 
are guests) some clever fortunes, in rhyme, and place 
them in small envelopes. Pin these promiscuously 
over the sheet, placing those promising the brightest 
future nearest the witch. When all is ready let each 
guest in turn be blindfolded, turned about several 
times, and allowed to seek and find his fortune by 
touching the sheet with the end of a small broomstick. 
The envelope nearest the point he touches will be his. 

Do not remove the envelopes until everybody has 
finished, but pin each one's name (written on a slip 
of paper) to the spot where he touches the sheet, to 
keep tally. If prizes are given let the one who secures 
the f ortmie which is placed in the witch 's outstretched 
hand receive an appropriate volume, such as ''The 
I'ortunes of Oliver Horn " or ' ' The Queen of the Air. ' ' 
Bertha C. Thorne. 



CHRISTMAS IDEAS 

Santa's Housecleaniny 

THE invitations were sent direct to the children 
from Santa Claus in the following form : 

Santa Clause invites to help him clean and put 

in order his cupboard on Christmas Eve. Some toy« 
have been mislaid, and Santa Claus offers a prize to the 
child who finds the oldest mislaid gifts. 

He also invites you to lunch with him on Bnowballs and 
ice at his home near the North Pole. 

All the decorations were white. The cupboard was 
made of boxes of all sizes, and gifts were hidden in 
them. Strips of white outing flannel were tacked in 
front of and inside the boxes to help screen the gifts. 
A curtain was drawn before the cupboard while the 
search was going on, so as to have but a dim light 
to search by. There were any amount of pockets 
hidden in the top and sides, and there were some old- 
fashioned toys hidden. These were searched for more 
eagerly than the newer ones. Some were found 
marked with the names of the children's older broth- 
ers and sisters, and these, of course, were given to 
the younger ones. One little girl found an old- 
fashioned doll with her mother's name on it, and she 
still takes pride in the doll *Hhat mamma should 
have had.'' 

Santa Claus 's house was an arch in white beside a 
white pole. The table was all white, and around it 
were made little seats shaped like snowbanks and cov- 
ered with white outing flannel or sheet wadding. The 
93 



94 PARLOR GAMES 

sheet wadding glistened like snowbanks in very cold 
weather. The snowballs were little cakes and cream 
puffs covered with white icing. Rock candy was the 
ice, and there was also ice cream. 

Among the white decorations were hung icicles of 
glass (glass pendants from a hanging lamp), and 
there were also white candles among the decorations. 
The white draperies consisted of sheet wadding, out- 
ing flannel and cotton. All of this was entirely new 
to the children, and they pronounced it much more 
jolly than a Christmas tree. 

Mrs. Luke Conneally. 

From a City to a Country Girl 

The most appropriate gift I saw last Christmas was 
given by a city girl to a country cousin. The box 
reached its destination Christmas Eve. When the 
ugly outer wrapping had been ripped off, a paste- 
board box tied with bright red ribbon was disclosed, 
and under its lid a collar-case made of two pieces of 
pasteboard covered with blue silk and caught together 
at one edge was found. The girl opened it and 
laughed. * ^ Just what I Ve been longing for — a turn- 
over collar set in Hardanger. Oh! and a collar of 
English embroidery and two tuckers.'' 

The country girl wished in her heart that she could 
make Hardanger collars; she wouldn't in the least 
have minded the work. And then her mother sug- 
gested that there was something else in the box, and 
the good fairy who answers girls' ^'wishes in their 
hearts" around about Christmastime answered this 
girl's; because in the next layer of the box she dis- 
covered the queerest kind of a book. Its cover was 
blue cretonne, covering pasteboard, and in it were 
pasted pages cut from the magazines filled with ideas 
for and designs of collars. But that was not all— 
the book also contained several pamphlets on Har- 
danger, English cut embroidery and cross-stitch work 



AND PARTIES 95 

— any fancy-work book will give these — with designs 
for turnover cuffs and front pieces; and at the end 
of the book were two pages with ideas gleaned by 
the city cousin from the town shop counters. 

The country girl^s eyes danced. Oh! if now she 
could only rake up some materials. Again she 
wished, and again the Christmas fairy must have 
granted her unspoken wish, for in the bottom of 
the box was a blue cretonne bag filled with many 
remnants, scraps, odds and ends of linen, lawn, rib- 
bon and lace, and some pieces that the country girl 
guessed were not quite ^^odds and ends.'' 

And last, in the very, very bottom, answering an 
even unthought-of wish, was a blue linen floss-holder 
with red, white and three blues in mercerized cottons, 
and skeins of blue and pink silk, and a book of em- 
broidery needles. Elizabeth Slevin. 

The Country to the City Girl 

A country girl who has more time and ingenuity 
than money sent the following list of gifts to rela- 
tives in the North: 

To a city cousin who entertains lavishly she 
shipped a large box containing a dozen small cedar 
trees not over a foot high, all trimmed to the same 
size and shape; one dozen flower-pot covers made of 
screen wire covered with lichens and lined with heavy 
gray wrapping-paper; a box of moss, the kind that 
looks like miniature trees; twelve small star-shaped 
baskets fashioned from screen wire and lichens, lined 
with scarlet crepe paper, having sprays of holly tied 
to the handles with red ribbons; a dozen cards cut 
from heavy water-color paper tinted with water- 
colors, representing five lar^ holly leaves arranged 
to form a star, clusters of the scarlet berries painted 
in the center, and appropriate quotations lettered in 
gold on the leaves; a big bunch of mistletoe, and 
every crack and crevice filled with sprays of holly, 



96 PARLOR GAMES 

and a large star made of screen wire filled with ever- 
lasting flowers that had been colored a rich red. 

Then she sent the following suggestions: Use the 
little trees as f avors, setting them in flower-pots, using 
the covers and moss, and decorate with inexpensive 
Christmas-tree ornaments. The baskets are for bon- 
bons and a card for each place, also a small bouquet 
of mistletoe and holly tied with red ribbon. The star 
on a bed of holly is for a centerpiece. 

Mrs. J. W. King. 

Christmas Flower-Gardens 

A small boy sent as gifts to five cousins last Christ- 
mas five small packages looking exactly alike. When 
. unwrapped they proved to be wooden boxes, neatly 
made, stained with a dark green stain and trimmed 
with strips of bark. Each box was filled with earth, 
in which was stuck a placard, one side of which read ; 
* ' Wait for me ! ' ^ and the other, ^ ^ Christmas Greeting 
from Harold. '' The children guessed the puzzle and 
put their boxes in a sunny window, watering them 
faithfully, with the result that in a few weeks there 
were five small flower-gardens filled with lusty blos- 
goms. C. Beaumont. 



